While Greg Monahan has many fond memories of defending his brother’s slap shots in his driveway and tossing a baseball around, 2014 brought him his favorite sport-related memories yet.
“When I got home the night of Jan.1, I thought ‘this might have been the best day I have ever lived,’” said Monahan, a master’s student studying journalism. “Things I had never dreamt of getting to do came one after the other.”
Monahan covered the Rose Bowl for the School of Journalism from sun up to sun down, filming the parade, the game, the post-game locker room celebration and more. Despite a full day of work, he said he has never enjoyed a trip as much as he enjoyed his stay in Pasadena.
“It was remarkable to the point where I can’t put it in words,” Monahan said. “I have only been at MSU for one semester, but I now know I made the right choice in coming here.”
After completing his undergraduate degree in broadcast journalism at Grand Valley State University, Monahan did public relations work for the West Michigan Whitecaps and the Detroit Red Wings. While he said he enjoyed those working environments, he wanted to get back to his journalistic roots. That’s when MSU came knocking.
“I was accepted into the School of Journalism, and when that opportunity presented itself I had to take it,” Monahan said, “and it has gone better than I planned.”
In his first semester at MSU, Monahan was awarded fiirst place in the School of Journalism’s Best of MSU Awards in the general column writing and radio feature categories. He credited his faculty mentor, Dave Poulson, for the continual growth in his reporting skills.
“Dave is a very knowledgeable person, and the one-on-one time I’ve gotten with him has been eye-opening,” Monahan said. “I was tired of turning papers in and getting minimal feedback, and that’s never been an issue with him. He’s constantly making me better.”
Monahan said his dream job, for as long as he can remember, has been to cover the Detroit Tigers. While the goal seemed more farfetched years ago, he now believes his ambitious aims are more in reach.
“In the last few months, I’ve done a lot of things I didn’t think I would ever get to do,” Monahan said. “It’s impossible to know exactly where I’m headed, but I know deciding to come to MSU was a step in the right direction.”