When I was a freshman, the reason I decided to join The Postech Times was very simple; the group clothes were so wonderful. They were a unique compared to others. However, after entering The Postech Times and hearing Professor Park Sang Joon’s talk about the opportunity as a reporter when he was a professor editor, I decided to be a good reporter. He said that reporters have to meet many opinion leaders using the name of the press, reporters have to be T-shaped people who has a deep knowledge of their major and broad knowledge of other subjects, and finally, reporters have to experience things out of POSTECH. Am I now a good reporter? I cannot say “I am.”
I wanted to be the reporter he said, but I was afraid of meeting authoritative people. I had not deeply mastered my major, and I was not a particularly active person. Therefore, I always chose the topics easy to write when the subjects were arranged. I can say that in the view of Prof. Park, I was a failure. Now, however, I can confidently say I have learnt three things—responsibility, loving work, and professionalism—through two years as a reporter and one as an editor.
Before this year, I was a problematic reporter. The articles I wrote were almost always submitted after the due date. This year, however, things have changed. As the editor of The Postech Times, I participated in the meetings with professor editor, held the meetings with reporters, designed the newspaper, and examined the articles. If I give up, the entire process stops. This has taught me the importance of being responsible. In spite of the burden of responsibility, the driving force that makes me do this work constantly is that I learned how to love this work. To me, when mandatory work became spontaneous work, my mind changed. The subjects of articles in 2014 and 2015 did not include issues related to society, or nearby science topics. This year, Korea and the world have experienced amazing issues like AlphaGo, Choi sun-sil gate, etc., which need the opinions of experts. Through the articles, I development a love for this work and a feeling of professionalism toward the newspaper.
The three years of being reporter were challenging. Sometimes I felt that I am lost. However, recalling the period, The Postech Times been a part of my entire university life, and has taught me many things outside of books.