From drag queens to ambassadors, former SFHS student Jakki Thompson has already met a wide variety of interesting personalities. Her life as a college journalism student has even brought her some national recognition.

This March, Thompson received an award from the Society of Professional Journalists for a three part column series about surviving her parents divorce. Those columns were just a few of the many articles she has written as a Journalism Major at Kansas State University in Manhatten, Kansas.

She wrote the stories to get a sense of closure, but said it didn’t really work out that way. It usually takes her around one hour to write a story of 1,000 words.

“This took me 1 ½ months,” she said.

Thompson  was involved in journalism in high school, winning 2nd place in the Minnesota Journalist of the Year, and now majors in social justice journalism because she wants to give voice to the voiceless.

And she has the strong voice to do that.

“If I have an opinion about it, I’ve written about it,” said Thompson.

Not being one to mince words, she tells it just how it is.  With a background in debate speech, student congress, student council, broadcasting, and journalism, Jakki has a confident air about her.  She presents herself professionally but never apologizes for who she is.

She gives most of her credit as a writer to the “K State” journalism program, stating that she arrived on campus very sure of her abilities to find out that she was not as stellar as she thought she was.  She warns other students to be careful about their expectations of college and their talents also.

“Be very wary of what your expectations of college are. It hit me like a wall. It will hit you like a wall,” she said.

Thompson advises students to make the most of their high school years in order to prepare themselves for the future.

“This school has so many options… Take it for whats its worth because if you don’t and you go on to college, specifically a Division 1 institution- you will not be as strong as you could be.”

Although her start at college was rocky Thompson has worked her way to the top.  Starting with a GPA of 2.7 after her first semester, she now has a GPA of 3.5 only two semesters later. Through continuously developing her skills, she has become Kansas State’s go-to writer for everything, from covering a local Drag Queen, to taking pictures at sporting events, to interviewing the Israeli Ambassador to the United States.

She is quick to say that journalism has given her many opportunities she wouldn’t have had otherwise.  A few of her favorites being, getting to take a private tour of the Kansas State President’s mansion and having the chance to interview the Governor of Kansas.

“I’ve had many opportunities that would not have presented themselves if it weren’t for journalism,” she said.

Jakki says that journalism can open up a world of doors for a person even if they don’t take a job in the journalism field.  She believes that the ability to write and communicate will help a person everywhere in their life, being successful at their job, communicating with the people around them, and understanding things on the global scale.

“You name it you can write about it, and if you can write about it, you can pretty much do anything in this world.”