Jamieson joins Havre Daily News as reporter

A recent graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma has made the journey to Havre to start working as a reporter for The Havre Daily News.

"I'm kind of doing what was always a hobby, I mean I've always loved to write," Rachel Jamieson said.

Jamieson arrived in Havre Friday from Edmond, Okla., where she lived for 14 years. In Edmond, she graduated from Edmond North High School in 2015 and attended the University of Central Oklahoma. This year, she graduated with a bachelor's degree in professional media, with an emphasis in broadcast journalism and a minor in political science.

She said she finished her education in three-and-a-half years, attending a number of summer classes. She added that she enjoyed her time at the university and wanted to complete her education quickly.

Jamieson said that she is no stranger to small towns, born in Guymon, Okla., a city similar in size to Havre.

She said her family moved from Guymon to the much larger city of Edmond, which is about 91,000 people. Coming back to a smaller town is a nice transition, she said, adding that small towns are big on community values and that community members in those towns are active.

"It's different, that's for sure," she said.

What is exciting to her is being able to bring the words of locals to light, she said. Writing is an art and she said she is excited to express the community's voice.

"We all have a story, there is always something and I would love to bring it to light," she said.

Jamieson added that she also wants to express the voice of the special needs community, and has been involved in a number of organizations for people with special needs, both as a volunteer and as a reporter, over the years, as well as vounteering for the last eight years in vacation Bible camp.

Jamieson said that her goal is to work for The Havre Daily News for a few years before enrolling in law school, where she wants to specialize in special needs law.

"If that makes me an attorney that's fantastic, if it's more writing that's fantastic, I just kind of want to further that and see where that goes," she said.

While at UCO, one of her favorite classes was media law, taught by UCO professor Mark Hanebutt, who worked as a lawyer and journalist before becoming a professor.

"It definitely intrigued me in how, as a journalist, you need to be familiar with the law," she said.

Jamieson also worked as an intern for Fox 25 in Edmond, worked at her school's paper, The Vista, and had a local radio show.

In her time as a reporter for The Vista, she said, she was a general reporter, covering a wide range of topics.

"I wanted to be educated on everything that was going on," she said.

She said she had no favorite topic when she was assigned a story and that when she started working on a subject, she would fall in love with it and enjoyed meeting and getting to know the people who were involved.

"It's all networking but it's more of building those relationships, not just for a job," she said.

She said she likes challenging stories, stories that seem unlikely for of a variety of reasons.

She said in her free time she loved going to coffee shops to write and to meet new people.

She said she is looking forward to working on her career at The Havre Daily News.

"I think it will be good, I'm excited," she said. "Who knows what can happen?"