Chris Joseph – Mizzou Triangle Tigers scholarship recipient

Our alumni chapter has awarded a $2000 scholarship for the 2017-18 school year to Chris Joseph, who is in the Missouri School of Journalism Class of 2018. He is currently a CBS News National Desk Intern in New York City and has worked as a KOMU 8 News Reporter. Below is information Chris provided us when we asked him to tell us about himself.

Wow!  I am humbled and extraordinarily grateful for this scholarship.  Thank you so much! 

I was born in the suburbs of Philadelphia and then spent some time in Connecticut.  When I was three (in 1999) my parents and I moved to Chapel Hill and I’ve lived there ever since!  I grew up in Chapel Hill and I’m proud to say it will forever by my home.

I was a die hard UNC fan as a kid.  The 2005 and 2009 national championship teams will forever be my heroes.  I still have Sean May and Tyler Hansbrough jerseys in my closet back home.  I went to Carrboro High School and graduated in 2014.  I was varsity in football and lacrosse, and was a member of the 2012 football runner-up squad from Carrboro my junior year.  I was a captain and all-conference in lacrosse my junior and senior seasons. 

I became involved in the school newspaper, The JagWire, my sophomore year and went on to be the Editor in Chief of the paper my senior year.  I would not be involved in reporting today if my journalism teacher sophomore year, Ms. Jan Gottschalk, had not told me I was good at it. I took her words to heart and decided that was going to be my life path. 

Growing up in Chapel Hill, I obviously had a strong connection to the university.  However, I wanted to explore the country.  My counselor in high school recommended I look at Mizzou for its journalism program.  I applied and was accepted the fall of my senior year, and that spring break I visited Columbia for the first time.  I was sold.  The campus, community, and journalism school was everything I was looking for.  

Since I’ve been on campus, I’ve tried to keep busy.  I spent time with MUTV 23 (the student television station), played club lacrosse my freshman year, worked at KOMU, and was initiated into the Missouri Alpha Chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.  I also held down jobs at the Mark Twain dining hall and the Applebees off Nifong. 

My favorite thing about Mizzou is easily the people.  I have made friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.  The people I’ve encountered have helped me grow, mature, and open my mind to things I had never would have encountered in Chapel Hill.  Being in the Midwest also allowed me to pursue my passion for travel, as I have been lucky enough to see St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Colorado and New Orleans among other locations. 

I intern at the national desk at CBS News in New York City.  It is the nerve center for all the news operations that CBS News produces on its national network.  I am responsible for keeping tabs on developing stories, making phone calls to confirm information, arrange for the coverage of local events, and any other odds or ends the national assignment editor has me do.  I work a little over 40 hours a week and have had fantastic networking opportunities with my fellow interns and our superiors.  The culture at CBS News is amazing and it’s a place I would love to work at in the future.

I am also involved with the New York study abroad program run by Reuben Stern.  I take a class every Tuesday evening where we talk with a guest lecturer about their experience in the vast journalism field.  We also tour various media outlets.  So far we have seen the Wall Street Journal, the Today Show, and BuzzFeed among others.  It has provided a great deal of guidance and insight into the industry and has also presented ample networking opportunities. 

I’m not sure where the winds will take me after graduation.  I’d like to work as a television reporter and eventually make my way back to New York City in one capacity or another.  I’d also like to be an anchor eventually.  There are many factors I have to weigh in my job hunt this spring.  I don’t know definitively what path I want to take.  Right now I’m just trying to live in the moment and enjoy the internship.

A fun fact about my time at Mizzou is Shakespeare’s Pizza is my favorite March Madness viewing location. Again, thank you so much for this scholarship!