In 1995, after being coerced to pursue writing by three different teachers, I decided I would become a journalist. I moved from San Diego to San Francisco and enrolled in San Francisco State's Journalism program.

On my way to a diploma, I became a reporter for the schools newspaper, the S. F. States Golden Gator, covering campus sports. In my Spring 1997 sports articles, I published 13 stories while learning they dynamics of a newsroom, developing my interviewing techniques, and fine-tuning my writing skills.

And then, for my second semester on the Gater, I was asked to be the sports editor. In my Fall 1997 sports articles I was able to direct a team of students, both reporters and photographers, and really expose the active sports life throughout the campus. San Francisco State has had the reputation for being a "commuter school," but I was out to alter that stigma.

Being part of a team who produced the twice-weekly publication, we meshed together like a multi-tasking schizophrenic—namely, everyone had their own "tweaked" personality, but we managed to put out a lot of quality newsprint. At one time during the semester, we ran "Win a Date with an Editor," where I was depicted as a beer-guzzling, chauvinist. It's not true, of course, but the way my team was filling up the paper with sports stories, you'd think that playing sports was the main activity on campus!

Upon graduation, I continued to pursue writing professionally. I was hired by The Independent, in San Francisco, which at the time was expanding local sports throughout all its Peninsula newspapers. (The owners of The Independent would later buy out and own the SF Examiner.) Right away, I knew this was my niche. Great relationships were made between me and the local high school coaches and students. They liked my stories in the community paper, and I enjoyed doing it. However, like many journalists have realized, it's a tough way to earn a living. I also found my evenings and weekend were being spent away from my friends and family. Now, writing has become a hobby, and I write only occationally.

During the 1997-98 football season, I began working for the San Francisco Chronicle as a film runner. The best part, besides being on the field for every home 49er football game, is that I can snap my own pictures. Now these pictures are being sold here on OrchardWeb.com under the N. F. L. link.