Who am I?
I’m the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s community and politics reporter. I graduated in 2024 from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism with a master’s in journalism.
For most of my childhood, I lived in Stanley, VA, a town of about 1,800 people tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Then, starting in 6th grade, I went to Hershey, PA and attended Milton Hershey School, a private boarding school for socioeconomically disadvantaged kids.
Why journalism?
My parents worked in Chinese restaurants the whole three decades they’ve been in the States. What their lives were like before they got here, I never understood or heard. There’s no time for that in restaurant work. The lack of family stories defined my childhood and my relationship with my family.
So, I believe my greatest project in life is to listen and give opportunities for others to share their stories so they never feel disconnected from their loved ones.
What kind of journalism interests me?
I’m interested in both economic inequality and interrogating the solutions we think will make life better in the future. We need solutions, yes, but there’s no panacea, and the answers we do come up with should be disinterested ones: no one should be helping others with the ultimate intention of benefiting themselves.
What did I do at Columbia?
I’ve written on everything from New York City’s public housing privatization, the economic burdens of congestion pricing on classical musicians scrapping by, Paris’ first urban farm as an ecological and social experiment, and business vacancies in New York City’s “forgotten borough.”
What did I do before Columbia?
International Relations at Georgetown University
I graduated in 2023 from Georgetown University where I received my bachelor’s of science in Foreign Service, certificate in Asian Studies, and the “Joseph S. Sebes, S.J. Medal.”
Although I majored in international relations, I developed interview, research, and analytical skills essential for reporting.
Data Synthesis, Interviews, and Analysis for Thesis
For my thesis, “The Failure of the Great Equalizer,” I synthesized data from Japan and the United States that had previously stood alone. Combined with original interviews, I argued that we should imagine the education system not as an investment, but as a game. Only then, I explain, can we make sense of the disparity in these two systems between the ideals of public education and the similar realities in these two countries with seemingly opposite educational outcomes.
Pursuit of Journalism Outside of Major
My major didn’t stop me from exploring my interest in journalism.
In my last year at Georgetown, I took my first and only journalism class of my undergraduate career, but that was enough to convince me that journalism was the path I wanted to pursue. While taking that journalism class, I interned at Télévision Française 1 in their Washington bureau. I had also been an editorial assistant conducting interviews for the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs for all four years at Georgetown where I advocated for and published the first interview by a non-academic for the journal.
Pursuit of Journalism Within Major
Within my major, my late interest in journalism strengthened and deepened my commitment to understanding international relations.
For my final project in my “Corporations and Empires” class, I recorded a podcast episode called, “Business as Usual.” In it, I explored why the Hudson’s Bay Company is the only surviving enterprise from its time (the answer in short: keep business interests apart from political ones).
In my “After the Miracle” class, I worked with my group to critique and analyze journalism itself. Our final project dissected the relationship between the media and public discontent of democracy in South Korea.
Outside of journalism, who am I?
I’m a binge reader. Once hooked on one author’s book, I tend to read the rest. I’ve made my way through Haruki Murakami and Joan Didion. I host a book club, too, at Lion’s Mouth Bookstore at 1 p.m. on the last Sunday of every month where we talk about what makes the book we read the last month good (or bad).
Besides reading, I like hiking, archery, film photography, and walks with my greyhound Shiloh.
Did I tell you I’m quite sarcastic? No? Well, now you know.
I have a big sweet tooth. I still prefer cooking to baking any day, except for making cheesecake.
How can you contact me?
By email: jlin [at] usatodayco.com or by phone: (920) 834-4250.
Jesse Lin 