My name is Jana Allen, I am a journalism junior here at the University of Oklahoma. Along with taking classes, I have worked at the OU Daily for two years this month and I am also involved in Chi Alpha Campus Ministries.
My hometown is Muskogee, Oklahoma—yes, I'm an Okie from Muskogee :-)
My dream for the future is to become a full-time investigative reporter, and my work at The Daily is definitely preparing me for that. I've been able to write several investigative style pieces, and I've got a couple things in the works right now. My work at The Daily is definitely the thing I'm most proud of during my time at OU, and I'm so thankful that I chose to attend a school with such a high-ranking college media outlet!
Now, I'll tell you guys some of my favorite things. First off, my favorite book is Pride and Prejudice and I love anything P&P related: fanfiction, all the movie/tv adaptations, silly web series on YouTube, funko pop's, etc. I recently decided to collect different editions of the book, and I've got three so far. I also love books in general, and since coming to college I haven't had tons of time to sit down and read a book. So, I have been avidly listening to audio books and I highly recommend it if you love fiction but don't have the time. I love anything with romance, sci-fi, or fantasy. I also love the Star Wars movies and just recently finished watching The Mandalorian. I recommend it to all Star Wars fans.
On a more personal level, I got engaged last October to my boyfriend of over 3.5 years and we are getting married this September. I am so so excited to move into this next chapter of my life. I always said I didn't want to get married while still in college, but in the last year we just really became ready to take that next step in our love story.
I might update this post as the semester goes on, but for now I've got to go! Thanks for reading.
Hi Jana!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to meet you! I'm a mechanical engineering major here at OU! I'm glad that you're able to utilize your knowledge from your journalism coursework in your work at the OU Daily. Hopefully, that has been a great experience that will help jumpstart your career! Also, congratulations on your engagement and the shift into the next chapter of your life!
Best wishes and have a great semester!
Hi Jana! First off, congratulations!!! I wish you the best of luck with your engagement, marriage, and future with your soon-to-be husband! I also want to wish you luck with your career in journalism. I think that is a fantastic and noble profession (when done well at least). My AA degree is in broadcast journalism and over the years I toyed with the idea of going in that direction. I too am a big science fiction and fantasy fan. And since you mentioned Star Wars I have two questions for you. 1) Is Star Wars science fiction, fantasy, or both? 2) What did you think of Rise of Skywalker?
ReplyDeleteHey Dave! To answer your questions:
Delete1. That's a really interesting question, I honestly never thought about that! My first instinct is to say sci-fi, of course. But The Force is definitely fantasy-leaning. So I guess I would say both!
2. I think there were definitely issues with the movie, but I enjoyed it overall. I wish that the trilogy could have had the same director for all three movies, because I think they could have fit together much more. I also found the healing part odd because I didn't remember anyone using the Force to do that in any other movies, but I could be remembering wrong.
Hey Jana!
ReplyDeleteLove is a wonderful thing and as much as we try to control it or put time limits on it, it finds a way to always surprise you. Congratulations on the engagement, and best of luck during your wedding planning! My step-sister has been planning for her wedding this May like crazy, and as it gets closer, I think she is slowly losing her mind!
I enjoy reading as well and understand the struggle of finding the time during the semester to sit down and leisure read. I am always burnt out from my textbooks to want to read anything else, so audio books may be a nice change of pace for me!
Best of luck on all your projects with The Daily this semester!
Hi Jana! Here I am getting around to your Introduction at last, and learning new things about you that I don't know just from reading the OUDaily Twitter... like being the Okie from Muskogee! :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I am so excited that you want to pursue a career in investigative journalism. That is what the world needs! We have lots of education researchers at all the education schools... but we need more education reporters! A LOT more education reporters! Do you know Audrey Watters? She is one of my heroes: AudreyWatters.com/. Year after year she has provided educational reporting and analysis that you won't find anywhere else. Now we just need a hundred more reporters like her!
And that is so cool about collecting editions of P&P... what a cool hobby! I'm also a huge fan of audiobooks. My favorite book that I read over winter break was actually a book I listened to as an audiobook, and the reader was excellent: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky.
Finally, CONGRATULATIONS on your engagement: this must be a very exciting time of life for the both of you. I am wishing you great things ahead! :-)
Hey Jana!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you're enjoying OU's journalism program! My sister was a broadcast journalism major and she really enjoyed her time at OU! She now works as a producer for News 9 thanks to connections she made during her time in the journalism department. I wish you luck with your future career! And congratulations on your engagement!
Oh, also, if you're a big fan on the Mandalorian, you should come by the Edge in Bizzell and put in a request for a 3D printed baby Yoda! They're very popular right now and we've been printing out a lot of them for months now.
DeleteHey Jana!
ReplyDeleteLooks like we are in the same college! I'm also a Gaylord major (But I'm under the PW banner). That's cool that you've worked at the Daily for so long! Do you know Daniella Peters? She's one of my PW friends, and she works there too. It was nice to read your story, and I hope you have a good rest of your semester!