My least favorite part of being a journalist is hitting the pavement to collect interviews. But when I get to sit down and write articles, all of the reporting pays off.
For my feature article assignment, I decided to cover a program at the Evanston Public Library that delivers books to homebound residents. That was how I came to meet Al, a volunteer who delivered books to senior living communities. I had prepared a list of questions about his volunteer work and had my notebook and audio recorder out. I was hoping to get good quotes because I had sacrificed my lunch hour for the interview. Then something unexpected happened.
Al began giving me remarkable details about the friendships he made as a volunteer. He delivered books to a 106-year-old woman who listened to political science books on tape because her eyes were going bad. Another friend immigrated to the U.S. as a war bride after World War II. During the pandemic, he received a call from her daughter telling him that she had passed away. As Al spoke, his eyes crinkled, then gazed into space as he recalled friends he had lost.
He had given me a gift by speaking so frankly about bittersweet, even painful memories. I wanted to give back. So I told him about how I lived in many different places as a child and spent my toddler years in Evanston. We both found it funny that I remembered almost nothing about the town yet here I was in Evanston for the cherubs program. Before we concluded the interview, Al told me, “Welcome home.”
Sometimes I get so caught up in the stress of an assignment that I’m caught off guard when I’m able to form a genuine connection with someone I interview. But as a journalist, I’m able to see through the eyes of others and use my words to tell their stories. Speaking with Al taught me that human connection lies at the core of journalism. He changed the way I’ll approach interviews for the rest of my life. From this summer on I’ll never forget that being a journalist means being human first.
