On October 27th, 2016, Kelly Furnas, a journalism professor at Elon University, came to visit the Royals Media Newspaper staff.

Furnas joined the students to share his experiences as well as answer any questions they might have on journalism or college. Furnas also advised the students to practice writing their college essays now so the essays would be more qualitative, direct, and clear.

“Writers only get better by doing,” Furnas said, explaining why students should begin to write their college essays now.

To the surprise of many, Furnas had not always been in love with the art of journalism. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until Furnas took a journalism class that he felt a connection with the subject. After that, a professor at Kansas State University named Paul Parsons who was having dinner with his father convinced Furnas to come to KSU.

Furnas explained how students should think about a career ath that is right for them and is not necessarily only about money.

“[By age 25] I would wake up every morning and not despise going to work,” Furnas said.

Upon his arrival at PGHS, many students found themselves eager to learn about what journalism had to offer, even if they did not choose a strictly journalistic career. Furnas was glad to tell them that journalism is an exciting career path to follow, and it plays a major role in every career.

Furnas recommended students engage themselves in at least one journalism class to get a basic understanding of direct writing since employers expect their employees to be straightforward in their work.

While Furnas taught the students a lot about journalism, he also gave them advice as to what college to attend.

Furnas informed the students to attend a school that would meet their needs. He recommended small schools, such as Elon University, due to the opportunity to create long lasting relationships with the professors.

However, he also said that if one wasn’t that fond of being called on often, a larger, more populated school may be the best choice.

The Royals Media staff thanked him for his words, a meeting they would remember for years to come.