Alycia Schneedls

I think a big part of my success comes from persistence and just genuinely caring about people. I've never personally been someone who gives up easily. I've always believed that especially small community stories matter. Building trust with sources and community members, listening to people, and just staying committed to being accurate and being credible, and having just meaningful storytelling, it's helped me grow both personally and professionally. I also think adaptability has played a major role because journalism moves very quickly. So I've really had to learn how to balance and manage deadlines, interviews, editing, family life, and just constant change, all while continuing to grow and push myself creatively and professionally.

Stop waiting until you feel fully ready, because ready isn't a feeling, it's a decision.

Don't underestimate the value of your voice or your perspective. You don't have to sound like everyone else to be successful. Most meaningful work comes from just being authentic. Authenticity is actually the highest vibrating emotion - it's stronger than love, or joy, or sadness, or fear. This is what we connect with. You don't have to be perfect, just be genuine. The industry can be really fast-paced and demanding, so don't let self-doubt stop you from pursuing opportunities. Consistency, curiosity, and resilience - these matter just as much as experience, sometimes more so. Just having that determination, telling the universe, hey, I'm a writer, and then proving it. Keep learning, trust your instincts, and remember that the stories that you tell can truly impact a community.

Journalism is facing kind of an evolutionary period right now. There's definitely challenges, not just with the landscape of the industry itself kind of changing into more of a digital-first environment, but journalism itself just moves incredibly fast. Reporters are often balancing tight deadlines, multiple stories, digital demands, and the big one, public scrutiny, all at once. Besides that, our organizations themselves face financial pressures, which can really make sustaining quality community journalism difficult. But despite those challenges, our work remains incredibly important. People still need accurate information, they need fair news, they need accountability, and they need stories that make them feel connected to their communities.

For work, it's very important for me to be neutral. I think that honesty, empathy, and real human connection is very important with both professionally and personally. Authenticity is crucial - being authentic, being honest, making sure that you're treating people with respect, and giving a voice to everyday community members, that's really important to me professionally. Personally, I also deeply value perseverance, compassion, and integrity. Life has taught me that challenges shape you, and I really try to bring that perspective into everything I do, whether that's raising my children, supporting my community, or just helping tell someone's story with care and fairness.