I spent nearly 14 years of my life playing softball. The game took me
all over the country and earned me a scholarship for college.
My place of solitude has always been on the field. Taylor Turner | NYT Institute
But suddenly, like a bad pitch that slams into you in the batter’s
box, I was taken out of the game by two successive back surgeries to
remove tumors on my spine. After that, each time I stepped up to the
plate, the decision was no longer whether I should bunt or hit, but
whether I would walk in the future.
Suddenly, I found myself on the sidelines of the game I love. I
became softball’s biggest fan in the stands and began looking for ways
to combine my love for the game with my aspirations to be a video
journalist.
Jennie Finch, famed softball player, made an appearance at the NCAA Softball Super Regionals in Lafayette, La.Taylor Turner | NYT Institute
This month, I helped cover the women’s college softball Super
Regional series between the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and the
University of Arizona. It was my first opportunity to combine my two
crafts. I was faced with many challenges as a videographer attempting to
catch the game from a fan’s perspective. Video rights, technical
challenges, thirsty mosquitoes — plus an unexpected sighting of the
famed softball player Jennie Finch — kept me occupied during the
tournament.
The best part of this experience was the ability to hit a home run to
any pitch that life throws you. I walked away from the tournament with a
vision for a career in sports journalism. A career that will make
waking up in the morning that much easier and enjoyable for the rest of
my life. A career and not just a job.
The University of Louisiana players have unusual superstitions that
extend to their fan base and parents. The Ragin’ Cajuns’ superstitions
include stuffed frogs, no-lens glasses and holey batting gloves.
Just as a picture is worth a thousand words, Evan Ortiz cannot be described in one.
“I am just as quiet and observant as I am engaged, outgoing, funny
and insane,” said Mr. Ortiz, a 21-year-old photographer from Brooklyn,
N.Y. “I am all over the place, but I love it. I love being able to
interact with people, be a part of their lives and also see, observe and
learn.”
Mr. Ortiz discovered his passion for fashion photography while
studying photojournalism as an undergraduate at the Rochester Institute
of Technology.
“I realized there was an opportunity to really get to know people
through photography,” he said. “I just love what the camera can do to
visually show and represent a person in their life and what their life
means to them.”
Evan Ortiz, 21, in
New Orleans on Monday is a photographer from Brooklyn. He said, “I am
just as quiet and observant as I am engaged, outgoing, funny and
insane.”Photo by Donnalyn Anthony | NYT Institute
Mr. Ortiz first heard about the two-week New York Times Student
Journalism Institute from a professor who encouraged him to look into
the program. After doing a bit of research, he was eager to apply.
“I have had some journalism experience, but I want to push and expand on my knowledge,” he said.
Mr. Ortiz hopes that the institute will teach him how to work under
deadlines, enrich his storytelling abilities and develop the practical
and technical skills needed to execute his stories.
“I have done a lot of photography work and video journalism, but I
also want to see if I can harness more skills specifically related to
journalism,” he said.
Mr. Ortiz said that he was excited and amazed by the group of
students in the Institute and he hopes to build a community with his
peers and produce a body of work that will make them proud.
“The collaborative aspect will be a good and healthy challenge for
me, but it is something I am really proud to be a part of,” he said.
When Nicholas Tolliver graduated from high school, he skipped college and headed straight for the chemical plant.
Like many other Louisiana students who are looking to make big money
in a short time, Mr. Tolliver, who is 27 and from New Roads, sought out
employment in the oil and gas industry instead of enrolling at a college
or university.
In 2005, Mr. Tolliver enrolled at a community college in Baton Rouge
to take business classes. But after a conversation with a neighbor who
said he could earn as much as $100,000 a year as an oil or gas
technician, he transferred to a certification program to receive
training for the industry.
“What sold me was the pay,” Mr. Tolliver said. “There are not too many places that you make that much that young.”
Louisiana is a region with a high demand for workers who can weld and work on oil rigs that are scattered along the Gulf Coast. Oil- and gas-related occupations
are expected to grow as much as 22 percent by 2022, according to data
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, many of which require only a basic
level of education and work experience or on-the-job training. New
Orleans has seen growth in the demand for welders because of the
continuing effort to rebuild the city after Hurricane Katrina, and
because of new projects like a hospital corridor in downtown New
Orleans.
The new construction has proved appealing for high school graduates
who are interested in transitioning into high-paying jobs without a
four-year college degree. Many of them are employed by the oil and
petrochemical industries, which includes working at refineries and
chemical plants, where jobs are plentiful and higher paying.
“Louisiana is in the midst of a huge economic and workforce
development boom,” said Quintin Taylor, the executive director of media
at the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. “Companies are
expanding or relocating to Louisiana for a number of different reasons,
primarily because oil is a big business.”
The State Education Department reports that just 28 percent of
Louisiana’s high school students continue their education after
graduation. To improve those numbers, the Louisiana educational system
has implemented programs that train students for careers in the
technical and industrial fields.
The city has also supported education initiatives and certification
programs for students who are interested in entering various industries
that require an understanding of industrial or process technology, such
as oil, gas, food production and chemical plants. Many of them allow
students to take classes and receive their industry certificates
simultaneously.
“Simply put, too few young adults in Louisiana have the skills and
credentials to assume the high-wage jobs offered in today’s Louisiana
economy,” said Barry Landry, a spokesman for the Louisiana Department of
Education.
Mr. Landry pointed to a program called Jump Start, which allows
students to take technical classes alongside their regular high school
curriculum so that they graduate with degrees, ready to apply to jobs in
demand for their region. Mr. Landry said it is the state’s new program
for “school districts, colleges and businesses to collaborate in
providing career courses and workplace experiences to high school
students, allowing them to continue their education after high school, certifying them for the career fields most likely to lead to high-wage jobs.”
The lucrative career opportunities are also appealing to people whose professional pursuits do not pan out.
Students at Nunez Community College are able to earn a certification in welding and are exposed to multiple job opportunities.Taylor Turner | NYT Institute
“We are getting a number of students that already have their
four-year degree,” said Thomas R. Warner, the chancellor of Nunez
Community College, which offers industrial technical training. He said
the school’s enrollment is increasing due to its certification programs.
“They know the jobs are out there and they are graduating in other
areas that are great,” he said, “but the jobs are not as promised as
they are right now in process technology and welding.”
Not all students who graduate from technical schools are guaranteed
employment after graduation and for some of them, it does not become the
lifelong career they may have envisioned.
Le’Ambra Alfred, 22, received a certificate in process technology in
2011, having trained to become an oil rig operator. Not long after, he
obtained a job at a major oil company in Louisiana. The money was good,
but the hours were long.
“Those are the negatives to the job,” he said. “It also takes a while to move up and you have to know someone.”
Mr. Alfred said he always worried about the long-term security of his
job. The technical programs offer a “good degree if you plan on living
in Louisiana or in the oil states for the rest of your life, but if you
want to move to other areas, it may not be,” he said.
Mr. Alfred is now pursuing a career in medicine at Grambling State University.
Michael Whetstone, an offshore field supervisor, has been in the
industry for more than 40 years. He believes it can sustain students
over the course of long and fruitful careers.
“This industry isn’t built for everyone, everyone can’t do this work,
but you never really get laid off,” he said. “If something slows down
in one sector, you can move and do something else. There is a lot of
diversity.”
