My most memorable journalism experience is when I was working on writing an article for print media about roadside memorials. I interviewed one man about how his Italian family dealt with the pain of losing a young family member. I asked 10 questions, and by the end of the interview he was crying and I had a lump in my throat.

At that moment, I felt like an intruder for having been there for that moment of pain. That feeling lingered until I got in my car and left the parking lot. The family was still very emotional about the subject and their loss, and that man was the only one who granted me an interview, the only one to help me find the stories behind the markers.

I had photographed a dozen local roadside memorials. One small cross was particularly hard to get a photo of because it was so close to a busy, curvy road. I dragged my then boyfriend (now husband) to the site for traffic assistance. I jotted down the names off all the crosses I could find and then drove to the Kingsport police station to see if they could give me any information about the accidents and victims.

Some, the police officer I spoke with couldn’t release any information about for legal reasons, but most were a result of someone driving too fast without a seatbelt. It felt great to say, “I’m at student reporter at ETSU, and I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about….”