Asha Brown has one thing on her mind these days: college. The Washington, D.C.-born, Greenbelt-raised native is headed to Morgan State University in Baltimore this upcoming fall semester. Her intended field of study? Journalism. “Growing up I didn’t really care for the news but I did love watching the Today Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show with my mom and sister,” she said about the earlier memories she has regarding the media. “My mother always encouraged me to keep a journal,” she said, which undoubtedly fueled her self-admitted love for reading and writing from a young age.
Aside from having grown up in Greenbelt, Brown also has ties to the News Review. The college freshman has been delivering her hometown paper for nearly five years, since she was in middle school. “The News Review has helped me to appreciate the news even more,” she said of the paper’s role in her decision to study journalism in college. “I’ve realized the importance of the news by talking to neighbors and people in the community who receive the paper.” During high school, she enrolled in a journalism class having never written an article. Right after her first article landed on the front page of the school’s paper, however, it gave her “the confidence that I was a good writer.” As a writer for Eleanor Roosevelt High School’s newspaper, The Raider Review, Brown held the position of co-editor. Her time there helped solidify that journalism was a passion that she wanted to continue to learn about. “I want to discover more about the multifaceted world of journalism,” she said.
Of her decision to pursue a degree at Morgan State University, she said that the university’s standing as an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) was significant. “I’m proud and excited to attend a school that recognizes, encourages and celebrates Black people’s excellence,” Brown said. On top of that, the school’s journalism program stood out to her. “It wasn’t easy finding a school that fits you during Covid, but watching students sharing their experiences on YouTube really helped.”
Brown hopes to learn more about writing and storytelling in college. As a future journalist, she believes it is the responsibility of her and her peers to help re-build some of the public’s lack of trust in the media. “I choose not to let it scare me, but rather encourage me.”