During high school in
Germantown, Md., Titus Ledbetter III thought he
had his career figured out.
“I was all art. I loved to paint and even
took AP (Advanced Placement) studio art,”
said Ledbetter.
Still, something gnawed at him -- “a fear
of ending up as a starving artist,” he said.
It left Ledbetter open to other options. Soon
he learned of Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward,
the Washington Post reporters who broke the Watergate
story that led to former President Richard M.
Nixon’s resignation in 1974.
“During a journalism class my senior year
of high school, we watched “All the President’s
Men,” and I was really shocked by the influence
that a reporter (could) have on the state of the
world.”
Ledbetter decided to trade in his paintbrush
for a keyboard, and now, with a print journalism
degree from Hampton University in Virginia, he’s
ready to have the same kind of impact.
“One of the biggest problems in the D.C.
community is the poor educational quality in some
parts of the city,” said Ledbetter. “I
would like to be a part of a new culture (of journalists)
that helps improve the state of education in the
D.C. area.”
Ledbetter, 21, worked on the Hampton Script,
the campus newspaper, for two years as the local
and world editor. He also spent last summer as
an online reporting intern for Black College Wire.
This year, Ledbetter will study at the summer
writing program of The Poynter Institute for journalists
in St. Petersburg, Fla., after the New York Times
Student Journalism Institute in New Orleans.
This marks the third time this year that Ledbetter
has visited Louisiana, but the first time he’s
ever visited New Orleans.
“I think this is an incredible opportunity
to build my writing skills before getting into
the real world,” he said, “but I’ve
always wanted to experience the culture and history
of New Orleans and now that I’m here, I’m
going to enjoy every minute of it.”
STANLEY “SHAWN” CHOLLETTE
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