Erin Bush is the journalism adviser here at Berlin, and she could not be more passionate about her job.
Bush enjoys the spontaneity of her job. She teaches four different classes: Multimedia, The Bulletin, yearbook, and Intro to Journalism. Her main passions are yearbook and Bulletin. She likes to come in every morning and prepare herself for what the day will hold for each class because every day is different, and she loves to know what to expect.
“I took journalism in high school and had the best experience, had a wonderful teacher, and just thought it was definitely my most enjoyable class; and I love to write,” Bush said.
Bush’s passion for journalism and the fact that she had a wonderful teacher in high school inspired her to become a journalism teacher herself. Something she loves about journalism classes is that they incorporate many skills that students will need in the real world, such as skills on how to properly communicate.
“Talking to people, looking people in the eye, shaking hands, approaching people to take their picture, to interview them, to sell them an ad…doing things that are a little out of their comfort zone, so when they get to college they feel comfortable doing those things,” Bush said.
Bush uses her journalism talents in several areas of life as well. She uses her skills to help her plan events, to coordinate things at church, and to write and send newsletters and emails.
“I can’t think of one life skill or profession where you don’t want to be a clear communicator. Whether it’s a friendship, whether it’s a romantic relationship, whether it’s a professional relationship with someone you work with, I think communication is everything, and I think that’s one thing we really work on in here,” Bush said.
Even though every day is different for Bush, most of her days consist of interaction with students mixed in with enjoyable activities at Berlin, such as spirit days and pep rallies, and with the blink of an eye, it’s already 2:35 and the day is over.
“A lot of times, I will check email and grade in the evening, but I enjoy doing that at home in my jammies curled up on the couch. I feel very blessed to have this job,” Bush said.
Another thing that Bush loves about this job is that a lot of times, she has the same students from their first day of freshman year to their last day of senior year.
“I’m so lucky with this subject to have students oftentimes for four years, three years, almost always two if I’ve had them in class and they continue to go on. So, during that time I get to watch you guys grow and evolve and see what your interested in. I am just so proud of you, and it’s hard to see you go, but you become fixtures in this room and I get attached to you guys, and I start to really care for you guys. It’s very emotional to see you guys graduate every year,” Bush said.
Although Bush feels sad when her students that she’s had for years become graduates, she also feels happy to see everyone move on to become successful because that’s exactly what she wants. The feeling is bittersweet.
Bush has had an amazing impact on so many different students over the years, as she has helped them become good communicators and made sure they had fun in the process. Her success is because of her extreme amounts of passion and adoration for journalism.
