Brady Stone '22 started his scholastic journey at Texas A&M University as a communication major, but discovered his true passion after taking his first journalism class and changed his major to focus more on journalism.
Stone joined the staff of The Battalion his freshman year and served a year-long term as editor in chief during his junior year. Now, he works as an audience engagement fellow for The Texas Tribune. With graduation on the horizon, Stone finds himself thinking fondly about his time at Texas A&M.
“My time in Aggieland has been pretty busy just because I stayed career-focused,” Stone said. “I definitely had a lot of fun in my time here as well. The memories that I’ll remember most fondly are spending time in The Battalion's newsroom with all of the students who worked there whether it be a regular print production night or if it was just a weekly meeting. Those three years working with people who became my best friends are definitely going to be my fondest memories.”
Stone’s passion for journalism started young. Even as a child, he was inquisitive and sought answers to his questions.
“I was always a very nosy kid,” Stone shared. “I liked asking questions, getting to the bottom of things and figuring out why things happen. I’ve always been very curious and inquisitive. In my head, there were two options for asking questions and getting to the bottom of things: something science-based or something like journalism. My knowledge does not lend itself well to science, but I have great communication skills and I’m a great writer. Journalism was the perfect fit.”
Stone accredits the College of Liberal Arts with opening the door to his budding journalism career.
“I have the Department of Communication to thank for that and the College of Liberal Arts as well because of all the support that I’ve gotten,” Stone shared. “I joined The Battalion my freshman year coincidentally enough from an email sent to all liberal arts majors. Because I’m in the College of Liberal Arts and because I got that mass email that The Battalion was hiring, that is what started the butterfly effect of where I am today.”
After graduating this semester, Stone will join The Kansas City Star as an audience intern and will continue pursuing his passion for audience journalism.
“Audience work in journalism can be thought of as community outreach,” Stone explained. “Audience journalists are trying to answer community questions and take a complex issue and make them easily digestible for the average reader. I attribute my interest in audience work to my hometown not having a robust newspaper. It doesn’t have a newspaper that explains how members of the community can get access to food stamps, or how high schoolers can apply for their first student loan. Seeing a need for more accessible delivery of complex information like this is what really sparked my interest in audience journalism specifically.”
As he continues on his journey to becoming a full-time journalist, Stone said he plans to use the numerous experiences he had while attending Texas A&M University. “I am very confident in the experiences I’ve had in journalism,” Stone said. “My experience at The Battalion got me to where I am today and my experience right now at The Texas Tribune has prepared me very well for my post graduation plans.”