Amanda Hughes

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

When I was a child, I wanted to be three things: a writer, a singer and a paleontologist. Drastically different career choices, yes. At some point in my early life, I tried my amateur hand at all of them. Fortunately for radio listeners and dinosaur bones everywhere, I stuck with my first choice.

From the beginning, UC played an instrumental role in my career. The journey started when I began attending UC Clermont College as a high school student in the post-secondary enrollment option program (PSEO) and edited the student newspaper. Then, I ventured east to Ohio University to earn my bachelor’s degree in journalism. Throughout my years at OU, I returned home summer, winter and spring breaks to write as an intern in UC Clermont’s public relations office.

I never dreamed my first job would be in a tiny, old coal-mining town in Appalachia, but that’s exactly where I found myself after college graduation. I learned many things in the rolling hills there and met people who became like family. I realized firsthand the role each of us plays in making the world a better place. 

Now, with those lessons in mind and hungry for a new challenge, I find myself back in Cincinnati, my hometown, and at the institution that first started me down this path. In many ways, I feel as though I’ve come full circle. The truth is, though, it’s just the beginning.

I’m blessed to do what I do for a living. Writing is a vocation that lets you play career chameleon. Every story, every interview is an adventure, an opportunity to discover and be exposed to something new. I’ve found intriguing stories in national politicians and professors, famous astronauts and Appalachian children.

So what is my story? Helping others tell their tales will weave my own. It’s only the beginning, after all.

Amanda Hughes
Assistant Editor, University of Cincinnati Magazine
amanda.hughes@uc.edu