Importance of our freedoms

Kismet. It means fate and fortune and is the only word that I can think of to describe the Chips Quinn Scholars program. Being selected as a Scholar came at the best time it could for me. The transition from being an intern to full-time reporter has been difficult, to say the least. I had started losing my "spark," the intangible quality that Reggie Stuart, corporate recruiting consultant for Knight Ridder, said sets a great journalist apart from a good journalist. At lunch today, John Quinn reminded us that this program was a dream that came out of the tragic death of his son Chips. I feel a strong connection to this, as my career in journalism was a dream that came out of surviving the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001. If it weren't for my supervisor at the insurance company where I worked, I would not be alive today. I have asked myself many times since then why my life was spared and thousands of others weren't. I don't know if I'll ever be able to answer that question, but being a part of this program has reminded me about the importance of our freedoms (particularly those in the First Amendment), and the media's responsibility in ensuring them.

-- Vanessa Renee Casavant, City University of New York-Hunter College, Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles, Wash.