Penn alumna makes a name for herself in journalism

Being able to list the President of the United States as a reader of your columns seems like an elusive dream for most young journalists.

However, for 2005 College graduate and Daily Pennsylvanian alumna Ashley Parker, this is just one of the milestones she has reached already, despite still being at what she considers her first “real job.”

Parker spoke with Penn professor Anthony DeCurtis in front of a small group of students at the Kelly Writers House Thursday about her burgeoning career as a journalist at The New York Times. Parker answered questions about her experiences, coming off as a fellow Penn student when saying she still finds it “cool that some people other than my parents are reading what I write.”

Parker played down her impressive resume, citing luck as a factor in landing her job as research assistant to prominent Times commentator Maureen Dowd. The position has taken her to Saudi Arabia on assignment for Vanity Fair — an experience which was “totally awesome,” she added.

Landing the position with Dowd was an impressive first post which “randomly came together,” Parker said. A Penn professor set up an interview for Parker with the manager of the Times, which happened to be on the same day as her interview with Dowd. This afforded Parker an insider’s account of what Dowd was looking for, which she played to in her interview, after which “shockingly … I got the job”.

Parker also spoke about the persistence required to forge a career as a journalist and the need to be able to cope with rejection and criticism. Upon developing an idea for a story, Parker would initially “go down a list of 10 to 15 organizations until I would finally find someone who would publish it,” she said.

Parker cited her recent feature article for The New York Times Magazine “All The Obama 20-Somethings” — which gave her backstage insight to the lives of the young people who work closely with President Barack Obama — as a highlight of her career.

Parker fielded questions from students regarding how she stays on top of all the reading required to be a journalist in today’s info-loaded world. “It’s literally impossible!” Parker said, adding that the skill of knowing which blogs to follow and which articles to read comes with time.

She also admitted to “scrubbing up” her Facebook page to make it more professional. One must be “very aware now in the day and age of blogs and flip phones that anything you do is on the record and fair fodder,” she said.

DeCurtis, coordinator of the RealArts@Penn program which hosted Parker, was “very proud” of Parker’s achievements and “delighted” to have her back. Although “disappointed” with the small student turnout, DeCurtis was not disheartened by the lack of numbers. It was always worthwhile hearing Parker, who is “an incredibly entertaining person,” he said.

Temple University student Allison Harris, a staff member at the Kelly Writers House, enjoyed the talk. It was “nice to be reminded the there’s a big world waiting,” she said.

College junior Lindsey Todd said that Parker “gave me a little more insight into how difficult it is to establish yourself as a journalist.”

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.