When Recognition Becomes a Special Birthday Gift

One of the greatest highlights of my journalism career was the day I won first place in the 2022 Keystone Media Awards and became an award-winning journalist in April 2022. It wasn’t just a memorable accomplishment; it was a spontaneous surprise that became my most memorable birthday present.

When COVID-19 first hit America, my employer, Ms. Eva Blackwell, suggested that I write a blog post addressing the COVID-19 outbreak in the country while also sharing words of encouragement with the autism community and the American population about how to get through those difficult times. It wasn’t long, but it was a two-minute blog post in which I explained how important it was to have self-confidence and believe that, no matter how long it took, the COVID-19 pandemic would eventually be over. Though it may sound like simple advice, it was much-needed advice that people needed to hear at the time: our traditional way of life wasn’t over; it was just taking a break until the pandemic was over. It was also important to be authentic with my audience and express my fears and concerns relating to the pandemic. I was worried about how long society would be shut down, how long people would have to wear masks, and how long people would have to remain socially distant from one another. However, every word of hope that I shared with my audience was also a word of hope that I was giving myself.

Since then, I continued writing blog posts relating to autism and the COVID-19 pandemic, such as a blog post I wrote about autism, COVID-19, and the education system. I explained my experience taking my college courses online for the first time and how stressful the situation was, as it was a lot for me to adapt to at the time. I also wrote about different tips parents could use to help their autistic children navigate school during the COVID-19 pandemic. I wrote another blog post about a mother named Alysia Abbott, who shared her challenging experiences of raising her autistic son during the pandemic. Ms. Blackwell enjoyed what I wrote so much that she commented on my post, saying, “Warm and encouraging post, Melissa!” I even wrote a blog post in which I offered a yearlong reflection on the autism community’s progress during the pandemic. That was when I first started mentioning the COVID-19 vaccine. At the time, America had reached a milestone moment by finally having vaccines available to fight COVID-19, and I was delighted to share the news in my blog post. Even so, I made it clear that, although we had come a long way, we were not out of the woods yet and still had a long way to go. The last blog post I wrote about COVID-19 and the autism community was about the complicated history of autism and vaccines. I explained that many people felt cautious and concerned about taking the COVID-19 vaccine because of the short amount of time it had taken to develop. I also wrote about how parents of autistic children might have similar fears or concerns about the vaccine, especially given the history between vaccines and the autism community. I explained that, throughout history, people have speculated that vaccines cause autism in children, even though this has never been proven to be true. I concluded my blog post by saying that, even though people may have fears and concerns about the vaccine, it was important to get vaccinated because the vaccine was one of the most important tools we had to fight COVID-19, and health and safety were more important than fears, concerns, and speculations.

A year after writing that blog post, I received a phone call from Ms. Blackwell the day after my birthday, on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. She told me about an annual journalism awards competition sponsored by the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA) and the PNA Foundation, known as the Keystone Media Awards. This competition recognizes exceptional talent in reporting, writing, photography, broadcasting, and design across Pennsylvania. Ms. Blackwell told me that she had secretly entered me into the competition, and then she shared the life-changing news that I had won first place for my ongoing news coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine! I was so elated and overjoyed when I realized that I had transitioned from an average journalist to an award-winning journalist! After sharing the news, Ms. Blackwell came to my house to drop off the plaque I had received from the competition. Then she took a picture of me holding my plaque so she could use it on the front cover of The Student Vanguard newspaper at Community College of Philadelphia for a cover story about me. The cover story would be an interview between me and a student named Angie Bacha, who was a staff writer for The Student Vanguard at the time. The interview took place in April, during which I expressed my feelings about my latest achievement and shared my story about how I ended up working for Ms. Blackwell with the Verge of Independence Project: Multimedia Autism Advocacy Organization. The interview was officially published on Thursday, April 28, 2022, and it became such a wonderful cover story that I was able to hang my copy of the interview on my bedroom wall next to my award.

Reflecting on that experience, I can say without hesitation that becoming an award-winning journalist was not only one of the greatest highlights of my journalism career but also one of the greatest birthday presents I had ever received. Being recognized for my talent, skills, intelligence, and creativity is something you can’t put a price on. The best part about it was that this wasn’t an achievement I had been seeking in advance. It was an achievement that had been secretly in the works without my knowledge because someone believed in me and advocated for my talent, strengths, and abilities to be recognized. In the end, that advocacy paid off. I learned an important life lesson from that experience: It’s important to believe in the power of your talent, strengths, and abilities. When you’re able to do that, it enables you to believe in the power of your creation. When you believe in the power of your creation, other believers will follow. When you get other people to believe in your creation, you can attract so many blessings and rewards that are beyond your imagination.