Cindy Jung - Harvard Political Review
I will explore the impact of my role in the Harvard Political Review—Senior Campus Editor—on my self-formation, as well as the HPR's importance to the personal and professional development of other members of the magazine. Starting with providing basic information about the HPR, and images of the magazine in print and online, I will demonstrate my responsibilities in my current position, which is also a part of “Masthead": another name for the board of a typical organization, comprised of six editorial (ed) side sections and four publication (pub) sides. But the more important part of my story is my journey from being a comper to a staff writer and then an editor. According to my evolving role the HPR has differently influenced both my sense of purpose at Harvard and my level of connectedness to student perspectives and happenings on campus.
To give a preview of "College Journalism: The Key to my Personal Development," being a student journalist has given me a means of investigating and speaking out about topics that matter a lot to me. It has also trained me in analytical writing backed by interviews and data, and the name value of the HPR has landed me with opportunities to interview many renowned people. In particular, writing for the Campus section has heightened my awareness of the intriguing students, faculty, and administrators whom I most likely would not have met through non-journalistic channels.
For "Student-run Magazine: A Collective Endeavor," I have interviewed other members of the HPR with the same inquiries, uncovering how participation in the magazine has added meaning to their Harvard experiences. What also emerged in the process is the range of views on the same magazine. In order to demonstrate these insights, I have included video or audio recordings of our general and section meetings. After all, these footages of our discussion embodies the collective nature of the HPR's work, showing that student-run magazines are so much more than the summation of disparate, individual experiences.
