Introduction
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Introduction
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Who is Tim Candon?
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When I first designed the website for a class in the Fall of 2002, I was a senior journalism student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. But Now, I'm just an unemployed college graduate trying to break into sports journalism and finding that it's not too easy. So if you know anyone who's in need of a sports reporter, drop my name and send them to this site. I was born and raised in Rutland, Vt., where most of my family still lives. My mother, Marge, is a dental hygienist, and my father, James, is an educator. I have an older brother, also named James, who is 26 and still trying to find his way. I graduated high school in June 1998 from Mt. St. Joseph Academy, one of two Catholic high schools in Vermont, in Rutland. I remember while I was still at MSJ, I came upon a bumper sticker that said, "I survived Catholic school." Since I wasn't done yet, I didn't want to jinx it. Nevertheless, I managed to make it. It certainly wasn't any more difficult than the Catholic middle school I went to, which had a lovely little greeting above the front entrance that said, "Come little children, suffer unto me." |
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During my senior year at MSJ, I decided I to attend Keene State College in Keene, N.H., to get my college degree. I chose KSC because I wanted to become an elementary school teacher, and like many small colleges in New England, KSC has an excellent program. But after one year of taking the courses in the program, I decided education just wasn't something I was interested in. Too much red tape and aggravation for me. Two years later, after spending a summer working with kids at the YMCA, I decided I hate children, so it's certainly for the better. It's been three years since I worked at the Y, and I still have a strong disliking of most people under the age of 18. |
| Anyway, I took my sophomore year at KSC to explore my options. I took an array of classes - geology, introduction to the mass media, public speaking - to see what was out there. But there was one class during the second semester of that year that helped find my calling - news writing. I didn't sign up for it for any particular reason, I just thought I'd give it a try. I don't know why, but I just sunk my teeth into the work and got a lot out of the class. At the end of the semester, my professor told me to think about journalism as a career because I had a knack for it. I thought about it and took his advice. |
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Following that semester, in May 2000, I moved to Chapel Hill, N.C., for what I thought was going to be the summer. My girlfriend was a student at UNC, and she didn't want to go to Vermont for the summer. Her family had since moved to Greensboro, so there wasn't anything really there for her (other than me). So she asked me to come to Chapel Hill, and I did. |
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About two weeks before I was to move back to Vermont, I decided I didn't want to leave. I really liked being out on my own and in a new place. I'd lived in New England for 20 years and just wanted to get away. My rationale was simple: I'd take a year off from Keene State, live in Chapel Hill and work full time for the year. I would apply to UNC, which has an amazing journalism school. If I got in, great. I'll stay and attend UNC. If I don't, I'll return to Keene and finish up school there. |
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Well, somehow I got in. I was an excellent student at Keene, but not too great coming out of high school. I don't know what it was about my application that made the admissions office think I'd make a great student at Carolina, but I'm glad they gave me the chance. And now I'm a UNC graduate (but that isn't official until the end of summer school in August 2003). Funny how things work out. |
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Attending UNC was an amazing experience and one that I think will have a tremendously positive experience on my life. It scares me to think abot what I'd be doing now had I not come to North Carolina. I've grown so much as a person, growth I don't think I would've done had I stayed at Keene State. |
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As I mentioned before, I am a sportswriter trying to find a job. I spent the last year writing for UNC's student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. That experience was the best thing I've ever done. I got to cover football games, men's basketball games and was a beat writer covering the men's soccer, women's basketball, and baseball teams. When the women's basketball team was placed in the Boulder, Colo., bracket of the NCAA Tournament, I got to go for five days. I've also gone all over the southeastern U.S. to different schools to cover UNC sports. Those are all things I never would've got to do had I not come to Carolina. But enough about me, let's bring this thing to a close. I ended my high school yearbook caption with a quote that I think is very appropriate to think about when you reach a turning point in your life. It comes from my favorite movie and one of the most powerful books I read: "The Shawshank Redemption." In the words of Andy Dufresne, "I guess it comes down to one simple choice: get busy living or get busy dying." |
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Contact: Timothy Candon |
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Last Updated: April 15, 2003
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