Rhiannon Walker Recap
On Tuesday, February 19, the University of Maryland Sports Business Society welcomed Rhiannon Walker. Walker works as a staff writer for The Athletic.
Walker wanted to be a sports journalist during her senior year of high school and later attended the Philip Merrill School of Journalism at the University of Maryland. Walker’s unwavering drive to succeed and the influence of Olive Green provided her with an opportunity to showcase her skills.
Walker cited the influence of her professor and fellow journalist Kevin Blackistone and the helpful insight he provided her.
“There was just this different way of looking at things,” Walker said. “This insight, this information that I had not seen regularly in sports reporting that Professor Blackistone has in all the articles he writes."
Walker’s professional career has had both ups and downs. Currently she is happily working for The Athletic as a beat reporter. She has direct contact with the Washington Redskins locker room and provided unique insight into the personalities of some of the players, including Vernon Davis and Ryan Anderson. Walker seeks to provide her audience with meaningful information and showcase the interests of the athletes as people.
“If you read my story and don’t learn anything then I didn’t do my job,” Walker said.
Walker has always been interested in feature writing and would like to transition back into that work because of the overall effect it has. This was magnified when she talked about the deep emotional connections she had when writing her favorite story about the tragedy of Dick Oles, a fencing instructor based outside of Baltimore.
Overall, Walker would not trade her job for anything. The endless opportunities to travel, meet new people and enjoy extravagant food have kept her excited for the future and she put into perspective what success would mean to her.
“Hey, if people think I’m a good writer,” Walker said, “a good reporter, after they think I’m a really good person and they enjoy working with me. Hey that’s icing on the cake. And a Pulitzer.”
