The Blog

Building Journalism Experience

While many students busy themselves with out-of-school activities, senior Timothy Hofmann chooses to fill his time in an interesting way: he writes a sports column and covers Nebraska Christian’s sports for the local newspaper. The Central City Republican-Nonpareil, a newspaper run by Bob Jensen, hired Tim over the summer to supply the paper with a weekly article. Mr. Jensen came to this decision after Tim completed a job shadow opportunity, an activity required by his Personal Finance class. Since Tim had been interested in the field of sports journalism leading up to that point, choosing to shadow at the RN was the most logical choice. After doing so, he quickly fell in love with the journalism process. His writing captured the attention of Mr. Jensen, and Tim was soon recruited as the newest sports contributor for the local paper.

Tim Hofmann works on a sports article during yearbook class.

“I really enjoy being able to put my love for sports and writing into action,” Tim replied when asked how he feels about writing a column. “I am grateful to Mr. Jensen for giving me the chance to write for him.” When asked what he has learned and if he thinks this opportunity has helped him improve as a writer, Tim said, “Writing for a newspaper lets you see what items of news you can and cannot publish. Also since I’ve been writing for the Nonpareil, I have read more and more articles to improve my writing skills.”

Not only does Tim write for the Nonpareil, but he also is the sports editor of Nebraska Christian’s yearbook. Yearbook adviser Becky Ritta said, “I appreciate having someone with Tim’s knowledge of and passion for sports as one of our editors. The sports section of our yearbook is really benefiting from his expertise.”

Tim is also the student council secretary and plays both football and basketball. He plans to continue the foundation he’s building this year by studying journalism in college, most likely at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.