As the football game between Illinois and Eastern Michigan ended, Emmie Larson, a sophomore at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, rushed to the field for a post-game interview. It was part of an assignment for her sports journalism class, JOUR 199. She was interested in this field, so she wanted to try this class out; however, out of the 20 kids registered, she was one of the three girls. Nonetheless, on this particular day, the two other girls had sorority recruitment, so Larson was the only female there.
Although this situation might be frightening for other girls, it was a scene she knew all too well. She grew up with two older brothers, and it tremendously impacted her. Her two brothers were “smart,” and one of them got an interview conducted by Harvard.
“I spend my entire life saying, ‘I’ll never be as good as them,’” said Larson. “You feel almost as stupid even though you know you weren’t.”
Due to growing up in these circumstances, walking into JOUR 199 was nothing to her. Larson has been in this situation before, and she has learned to overcome this struggle. In reality, it has helped her, and just because sports journalism is a male-dominated field, it wasn’t going to stop her from pursuing what she loves.
“I figured it would be like that, but that also inspired me more. You feel like you have something to prove,” said Larson.
She's uncertain where she's going with the field, but she's excited to see where it will take her. Furthermore, she knows that she has the support of her parents in whatever she chooses to do.
"They are very big in becoming educated," said Larson. "My mom always said, 'There's no limit in what you can do.’"
Regardless, if she chooses to pursue a career in sports journalism, opinions aren't going to stop her. It's a career where she combined all her interests, such as writing, communicating with people, and sports.
“It’s very male-dominated,” said Larson. “But, maybe, I can change that.”
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