Sparta Spotlight - Aubrey Simmons' Journalism Journey

When the editor of The Expositor, Caleb Andrews, asked me to share my journalism journey, I thought about how it is a story I never expected to write.

            If you had asked me four years ago what I wanted to do with my life, I would have told you I wanted to be a teacher. 

I had no idea that one class would change the course of not only my high school career, but my life.       

During my sophomore year, I enrolled in journalism just because I enjoyed the newspaper club that I had participated in during my freshman year. In journalism, I was introduced to interviewing, AP style, photography, storytelling, and graphic design.

What drew me to journalism was its ability to connect with people. I discovered that journalism was way more than just writing. Every interview represented someone’s perspective, and it was amazing to witness and tell other people’s accomplishments and experiences.

Beyond that, it was about building relationships and networking, asking genuine questions, considering different angles, and serving a community by telling stories with integrity.

            My junior and senior years at WCHS were all about Journalism. I was in other clubs and had many other things going on, but what I was creating and the people I was surrounded by in that class were at the top of the most important things to me while I was at White County. 

            Throughout my junior and senior years, I was heavily involved in the design and writing for the Spartan Voice and the making of the ads in the yearbook. I served as editor of all the Warrior Gameday Media Guides that were produced from my junior year through graduation. I also took the second volume of WCHS’s alumni magazine The Oikos under my wing. 

While I did work hard in all the things I mentioned above, I could not have accomplished anything without the help of my mentors. Drew Haston, Jason Crockett, and Hannah Randolph are some of the most important names that come to mind, but there were more. If not for them, I would not be writing this.

While there have been seasons of writer's block, times when no ideas came through my mind, and months where I thought I was not going to be able to pursue what I love at the place I wanted to, I look back at those times now and can clearly see God’s hand opening doors for me I never could have walked through on my own. 

After lots of prayer, talks with mentors, and long nights trying to find a way, God presented a door that I took one big leap through.

This fall, I will begin my freshman year studying communications at Tennessee Tech University with plans to pursue a career in public relations. I have taken the position of yearbook editor and assistant magazine editor at Tech and cannot begin to describe how excited I am to see where the next chapter leads me.

            Most importantly, I want to explain “my why.” Every person has a story worth telling. Behind every story is a person, an experience, and a purpose that deserves to be shared. Whether through journalism or public relations, I want to use communications to connect with people, serve communities, and tell stories with integrity. I believe every single person’s words have the power to inform, encourage, and create change, and I want my words to make a change for the better.