Angelique Fiske, an LHS alum from the class of 2010, recently shared an inspiring story with my journalism class about how her writing career has taken off since graduation. Now a senior at Quinnipiac University, Fiske remembers how it all started with The Cub.

As a journalism major with a minor in English, Fiske now spends most of her time immersed in the written word, whether it be working as Publishing Editor for The Quinnipiac Bobcats Sports Network or just helping her friends write their papers.

Her passion for writing kicked off her sophomore year when she walked through the doors of B201 and into her first journalism class.

“It took over my life for three years,” she said. She was soon the Sports Editor for The Cub, which helped solidify her interest in sports journalism.

Her love for sports paired with her lack of concern for “looking like a fool” produced some great stories. She once wrote a series of first-person perspectives about her experiences dropping in on different sport practices. Here’s a sample:

I sunk into my seat, feeling the tears form within my anti-running soul as I heard [the editor] say the one word that had me feeling like I was on death row: Track.

As I left the class, appreciating every pain-free step I took, I muttered to myself any possible way to get excused. I was just a few absences short of being able to skip the whole month, and my lack of passport eliminated hitch hiking to Canada. I had no choice but to succumb to my draft into the track army.

Even if it meant enduring an entire practice deemed an “easy day” by all the track stars, Fiske took her job seriously, and often got a funny article out of it.

Soon her writing was published on MassLive and she even landed a position as a freelance writer for The Register, even though she was still in high school. Fiske points out that this is one of the benefits of journalism: “It’s unique because you don’t need a degree to do it.”

But, it turns out that working on a degree doesn’t hurt much either. Now in college, she’s been introduced to opportunities she only dreamed of in high school. One of them being scoring a coveted position as an intern for NESN (for the less sports-inclined: The New England Sports Network which features news on the Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins, and Celtics.)

It all started one morning during spring break in Colorado. She was visiting her sister and they had plans to grab breakfast. While waiting to go, Fiske, casually scrolling through her Twitter, stumbled upon a Tweet from NESN. They were seeking intern positions for the summer. After sending out her résumé and going through a few interviews, she was soon accepted.

As an intern, her day started every morning at 4 a.m. because of the long commute. The drive was worth it for Fiske who said, “The best part about it, though, was being able to live something that I had dreamt about for so long. I got to meet Tom Caron, Jim Rice and some of the big faces on TV, plus I worked alongside the people who kept the website working on a daily basis.” She also gained more experience from writing about three to six articles a day.

Fiske has yet another experience right around the corner: a trip to South Africa this winter break.

To participate in Quinnipiac’s alternative break she had to be nominated to join. To score a spot, Fiske had to attend an information session, fill out an application, and be interviewed.

Fiske said, “Getting the email saying I was accepted was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I have always wanted to study abroad or go on an alternative break trip, but I was always too nervous to apply or was not able to go because of my involvement on campus.”

Fiske said she plans to stay in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, and work with the children in townships there. She’ll be running a holiday camp for the kids, which includes participating in activities like playing soccer and team building. Fiske’s main goal is “for the kids to take something tangible back home with them that they can be proud of.” The kids are not in school and are often unsupervised by parents, so her role will help prevent them getting involved in violence and crime.

Now that Fiske is nearing graduation, life after college is becoming more of a reality.

“I think when I graduated [high school], I was expecting to go to school, to keep writing, graduate and get a job in sports journalism. Well, I am still writing, I’m a semester away from graduation, but other than that, things have changed.”

She’s acknowledged that she “expected to gain a new perspective on the world around me, but never expected to gain a new perspective on myself.”

This new outlook includes her plan to stay with journalism, but possibly for a magazine like National Geographic. Graduate school is also an option, as she can see herself getting a degree in anthropology.

Fiske brings hope for life after high school to those who love writing. For aspiring journalists, Fiske emphasizes the importance of taking risks and straying from mundane “cookie-cutter stories.”

Fiske ends with a piece of noteworthy advice: “Write, write, write, keep writing and keep reading. The more that you read, the better writer you become. Read things you love, read things you hate. In turn, you will learn the kind of style that you hope to develop for yourself.”