Benton McDonald

• Major: Journalism
• Class: Sophomore
• Hometown: Austin, Texas

From the moment Benton McDonald was immersed in the Department of Journalism at Texas Christian University through a summer workshop before his senior year of high school, he was sold. McDonald loves the people, the projects and most simply, he loves writing.

One of McDonald’s favorite experiences so far was being in Assistant Professor Jean Brown’s Reporting class. In this class, he was assigned to go out and cover the spectacle surrounding the ESPN show coming to campus for the TCU-Ohio State football game. He said he got the chance to talk to three of the ESPN analysts about the game, the atmosphere in Fort Worth and where they eat when they come here. After completing the project, McDonald was able to publish the piece on TCU360, the student-produced online news platform. “Reporting class gave me this unique opportunity and by challenging us to work like real reporters, I became better at what I do and got to meet guys I grew up watching on TV,” he said.

McDonald beamed as he discussed his love for journalism. He explained that the department provides students the opportunity to go out and get real-world experience from the day they step foot on campus and he is very happy to be a part of that. “Whether it is working alongside professionals and watching them or using the repetition to craft your interviewing and writing skills, the real-world experience has been huge,” he said. “I would say it is the best part about being a part of the Bob Schieffer College of Communication and why I would recommend it to all journalism students in the country.”