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London cityscape

Soon after I finished my first year at Amherst this spring, I boarded a plane with the expectation that a stint in the news room at Reuters London would serve as a respite from a hectic year. I had scant journalistic experience but a passion for world events and politics. 

I had barely arrived in London when I was thrust into the most intense news cycle in the United Kingdom in years. Between the UK election and the London Bridge attack, it was all hands on deck in the newsroom, and my editors soon sent me out on assignments. In fact, just days after my arrival in London, I wrote (with much help from Reuters editors) the lead national story on the public mourning and aftermath of the London Bridge terrorist attack. Titled "We all feel the pain: Londoners gather to mourn attack victims," the piece was carried in news outlets around the world. 

But before that, I had to get up to speed on British current events. Prime Minister Theresa May had called for a snap election in April, hoping to gain a stronger mandate to lead and gain leverage in the Brexit negotiations. Reporting and writing about the election became my primary focus. Then, on the night of June 3, 11 people died and another 50 were severely injured in the London Bridge attacks. This attack, just two weeks after a suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, helped narrow the lead for May. I went out to interview folks in the working class town of Corby and wrote the article, "Voters in British town bemoan weak leadership choices after attacks." 

As the election approached, a song denouncing May’s Strong and Stable campaign slogan rose to number two on iTunes in the U.K. My editors asked me to measure the pulse of the British people. That assignment resulted in my article, “Protest after BBC says won't play 'liar liar' song ahead of UK vote."

I watched the vote count on election night as it became more and more apparent that there would be a hung parliament, with no one party in the majority. By the end of the night, the opposition Labour party was calling for May to step down as prime minister. I was lucky enough to be at the opposition campaign headquarters as these unexpected events took place. Though less emotional than the London Bridge reporting, my work on the post-election stories were the most challenging for me, given the uncertainty created by May’s failure to forge a majority for her Conservative party.

I will not forget my time at Reuters London during those short weeks of so much turmoil. I am grateful for the outstanding, professional journalists and editors who gave me an opportunity to contribute. They are the ones truly responsible for my articles. Yet in the end, I think the confidence I gained in my first year at Amherst also helped me to take on challenges, keep an open mind and succeed.