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Jessica Bock juggles class, two jobs to meet her goals

Jessica Bock

Although Jessica Bock grew up in a town of 600 people, she is looking forward to working as a journalist for a newspaper in a large city. She is doing everything she can during her college years to make sure she can achieve her goal of reporting on events in a metropolitan area. 

 “I’d like to have that experience,” Bock said. “It would be an exciting change.”

Bock is a 21-year-old senior print journalism major at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire who fills her days with working two jobs and keeping up with being a full-time student. She said she wants to be a print journalist so that she can work in a newsroom where nothing is the same from day to day. 

Bock, who grew up in Minong, Wis., and graduated at the top of her high school class of 26 people, has been working to make her goal happen since coming to UW-Eau Claire as a freshman in 1998. She started work as a part-time news desk reporter at the Leader-Telegram, the daily newspaper in Eau Claire, in the summer of 2000. Her experience at this position helped her obtain a full-time reporting internship at the newspaper in the summer of 2001.

As a summer intern, Bock was able to delve into a variety of writing assignments. She wrote more than 70 articles during the course of the summer, including stories about a dog track that closed in Hudson, Wis., a man who wrote a book detailing his experiences as a hunchback and a feature story about a 100-year-old man preparing to move out of a nursing home because he was too healthy to stay there. 

“I really enjoyed the newsroom atmosphere,” Bock said. “I got so many more opportunities as an intern than I did as a part-timer.”

Her work was appreciated by Don Huebscher, editor of the Leader-Telegram, who described Bock as “hard-working, professional and talented.” He said Bock was everything he could have asked for in an intern.

Her internship may have ended, but her work at Leader-Telegram hasn’t. Bock resumed her part-time position this fall. Huebscher was glad to see her return because established contact with reporters is good for readers and the staff, he said.

But that isn’t all she is doing to prepare for her career as a journalist. Bock is the managing editor of The Spectator, the UW-Eau Claire campus newspaper. She is responsible for overseeing deadlines on Tuesday and Sunday nights, setting page templates for each issue and assisting in almost all management aspects that arise with The Spectator.

Between these two jobs, Bock said she works about 40 hours a week. She balances her work with taking 13 credits, which can lead to hectic days.

Tuesday is a busy day for Jessica Bock. She starts her day at 7 a.m. at the Leader-Telegram where she works until 10 a.m. She then has hours of studying and homework, as well as class followed by at least six hours of work at The Spectator during the evening.

“Being busy makes things interesting,” Bock said.

She has a vast knowledge of the inner workings of The Spectator. This is the fifth semester Bock has been a staff member of the newspaper. Other positions she has held include copy editor, lifestyles editor, chief copy editor and news editor. Of all her positions, Bock said being managing editor is her favorite.

“I’m able to help younger staff members with things I’ve learned through the semesters,” she said.

Bock said she plans to graduate from UW-Eau Claire in May with a major in print journalism and a minor in history. History is a subject that intrigues Bock because she is interested in how past events have shaped the world.

After graduation, Bock said she hopes to find a job in an area that will make her happy and plans to keep working until she finds a position in a newsroom in a large city.

“She has a very promising career in print journalism, should she choose a career in it,” Huebscher said. “And I hope she does.”