Editor’s note: Meet-a-Ram is an occasional VCU News series about the students, faculty, staff and alumni who make Virginia Commonwealth University a dynamic place to live, work and study.
Arrick Wilson is many things. He is a sophomore majoring in journalism at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture, the sports editor for the Commonwealth Times, and founder of The Black Creative. While he wears many hats, Wilson’s passion for creation and emphasis on representation always shines through.
We spoke with Wilson about his current endeavors and goals for the future.
What got you into sports reporting?
I’ve always been a big sports fan. My dad was probably my main source for that because dads, they sit and watch the games. But my father was a hard worker – all he did when he got home was turn on ESPN. And so that’s really where I got a lot of that sports journalism [interest].
After that, I didn’t grow out of sports, but I kind of let it go [and] I ventured into other different things. But I came right back.
I feel like a child sometimes when I talk about sports, because I walk around the house imitating the announcers. My brothers used to play basketball games and while they were playing you would hear me say, “Oh he went in … .”
Sports was always the biggest thing for me, and then I became a sports journalist.
What are the biggest challenges and highlights of working in the role of sports editor at CT?
The highlights were that I got to do what I always wanted to do. And it was crazy because I started out pretty young, so everyone was older than me. When I’m in the newsroom, I get a lot of insight from other journalism majors. And like I said, I gained experience that I might need later in my career.
Maybe the lowlights are so it’s a job in the end. It’s a job and it can be difficult at times, especially if you have a full schedule and then you have to figure out what the newspaper should cover for the games. And then there are a lot of games at VCU, so you have to make priorities. Now, it’s a bit difficult sometimes, but I think I have my time to figure it out.
What do you like most about covering sports? Are there any games that you like to cover? Any types of stories you want to write?
Well, my favorite sports are basketball and football. I have covered football before, but not for CT, but CT for basketball. I really like doing game recaps.
I like writing profiles because I believe that athletes are not people sometimes. And I’m a big representation person, so I feel like it’s pretty cool if we give these platforms to the athletes so they can not only talk about themselves but talk about the situations they’ve been through because they don’t have them’ y many got. that. They are usually told to just play their game and stay in their lane. It’s great to see when athletes have thoughts on some things in their lives and even their life stories. One of my favorite articles I’ve done is on Toibu “Toibi” Lawal, a VCU basketball player from London. Just got to know him, and he has a cool story.
What is your greatest accomplishment as a sports writer and photographer?
My biggest accomplishment as a sports writer was getting an award last year. I won first place in writing a sports column from the Virginia Press Association. It’s huge for me because I’m new, and I’ve already done the things I want to do.
For photography, just take photos. I really like to capture the moments of life with photography.
You also started a magazine called The Black Creative centered around Black artists and perspectives. What inspired you to create this publication?
I started it because I started to get more into photography, especially fashion photography and editorial photography. I look for examples of magazines from people like me. And I can probably count on my hand how many. Like I said, I’m a big representation person because representation is important in all forms of life. I just thought, “I’ve never seen an example, so why don’t I do it myself? I am a journalist. So what exactly is stopping me?” So that’s what I did.
It’s getting a little bit of buzz, just a little bit of buzz right now, but really, it’s going to focus on a lot of representation of Black people, creative people, artists that maybe wouldn’t get the same attention if it was for a different magazine. .
What is the most rewarding part about working at The Black Creative?
You put the work on yourself. You’ve been here countless nights trying to figure out what you want to put in there. Just looking at the fruits is good, even though I see little grapes. I saw grapes with 100 likes on one post to 200 likes on another. Other people just take it for granted that there are people like me on campus. That’s especially what I wanted to do with the series I’m doing called “Young, Gifted and Black,” where I go around campus and I just take pictures of Black people at VCU. So, I think just doing that and seeing people really go, “Oh yeah, this is cool,” or even myself saying, “Oh, yeah, this is really cool.”
What do you hope to do after graduation?
Honestly, I just want to be in a place where I can be and do what I want. Whether that’s a photographer or sports journalist at your local news station, whether it’s a beat writer, not even covering sports, but somewhere where I’m comfortable in my place and creating. That’s one of my big things, just creating a place.
How would you describe yourself in one “un” word and why?
Unlimited, because I feel like I’m doing too much. I am a photographer. I am a journalist. I’m an artist. I’m creative. I feel like there’s no limit to what I can do, and there’s no limit to what I can do.
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