Samuel O’Neal 
Degree: BA, journalism  
College: Klein College of Media and Communication 
Hometown: Laurel, Delaware 

Why I chose Temple: “I wanted to be in the city, and I was initially contemplating New York. At first, I wanted to go very far away from home, but when I started to really think about it, I realized that the further I went, the more expensive it would be. Temple was a good option as it was in a very dense environment, and it was a happy medium as it feels far away but isn’t. I took a tour in the spring of 2021. I knew of Temple, obviously because of the basketball history, and I just envisioned that it was like NYU, but I was blown away that it was its own place and felt like a college campus in a city. I quickly started to follow The Temple News and was impressed by the student media scene, especially since I saw that students had a chance to get involved right away. It really just started to seem like the perfect fit.” 

Transformative Temple moment: “It was when I was hired as an assistant sports editor. As a first-year student, I struggled to find my group of people, but then, during my sophomore year, I started freelancing for The Temple News, and that really opened up the door to my future career in journalism. That one thing, getting involved in the newsroom, really changed my entire college experience. I remember sitting at a budget meeting, hearing news pitches and how it really solidified that this is what I want to do full time. And then, before long, I was an assistant news editor and rose to sports editor before becoming editor-in-chief my senior year.” 

What’s next: “I took a fellowship abroad for 12 months. I am leaving the country for 12 months and will be heading to Sydney, Australia, to work with News Corp Australia. I leave in June and then I get back the following June. Then, after that, I will be looking for a full-time job, hopefully here in Philly. But there is probably not a state I wouldn’t go to. While I have spent a lot of time covering sports, I want to be covering the news. I get more personal fulfillment covering things that impact people’s day-to-day lives. I am really interested in K–12 education. I would love to cover higher education one day. I love covering Temple.”