”The School of Advanced Journalism taught me that dreams can come true and one should never say ”Never!”

I was 28, had a degree in journalism, a family, a small kid and a job. I was working at a security company, but I felt I should be doing something else. I needed a change. At that moment, a good colleague and friend of mine asked me why I would not apply to the School of Advanced Journalism. 'What? Quit the job and go to school? Me? At 28? Never!', was my answer. Still, I would think about it every day. 'What if I try? What if I start it all over?' Well, said and done. Once the decision was taken, I prepared the application file in one day. On 1 September 2011 I became a student of the School of Advanced Journalism.

The School of Advanced Journalism taught me what a news item, a story, an interview, an article should look like. I learned it not from manuals; I learned it through hands-on experience. From the first day at SAJ Vitalie Dogaru, the trainer teaching the course 'Introduction to Journalism', divided us into groups of three, gave us an hour to go out there and come back with five news each. At first it was hard. We were shy, it was challenging to approach people and inquire about their opinions, to ask them questions. However, in time we learned to be bolder, braver. We learned to ask uncomfortable questions and notice what others did not see. I learned that there is no room for emotions in journalism and my personal opinion does NOT matter.

We had training for nine months, followed by internships. I was assigned as intern at Pro TV. 'Oh, God!', I said. True reporter work started there. I will always remember my first story. My first story that was broadcast. It was a story about the Museum Night. Many more events and topics followed. After that four-week internship they offered me a job and I stayed at ProTV as editor of the news portal www.protv.md.

SAJ changed my personality. I learned that dreams can come true and one should never say 'Never!'

Veronica Marin