By Staff Writer: Kayla Kocher
There is something a little ironic about writing an article for The Chase about why people should write for The Chase. I have even written a version of this before. See my Spring 2025 article, “Ninety Years of Speaking Up: Why You Should Write for The Chase.” But this time I am not here to talk about history. I am here to talk about right now, and why joining The Chase is still one of the fastest ways to get better at writing and reporting.
Most people do not avoid writing because they do not have ideas. They avoid it because they think they have to be “good” before they start. The Chase flips that. You show up curious, you write what you actually care about, and you learn by doing. You practice the parts that build skill fast: developing story ideas, finding sources, asking questions, AP formatting, and turning a blank document into a finished piece with a headline and your name on it. Deadlines give you structure, edits train your eye, and you start improving week to week in a way you can actually feel quickly. And you leave with proof: published clips that make internships, scholarships, and job applications a lot easier to back up.
If you are waiting until you feel ready, you will keep waiting. The Chase is where you get ready. My journalism emphasis requires three practicum courses, and I chose to write for The Chase for all three because I love it, and it has strengthened me. In my first semester, I had a million ideas but not much fine-tuning. As I have kept writing, the shift has been obvious: I pitch fewer ideas now, but they are better ones, more focused, more reported, and more built for this field. If you want to level up fast, The Chase is the place to do it.