Putting in a load of laundry to wash, loading the dishwasher, teaching students journalism, and spending time drafting articles for various publications as a freelance writer - this woman can do it all.
Meet Jaime Bedrin, 47, an adjunct professor who teaches communication courses at Seton Hall and is an advisor at the corporate experience program at Montclair State University.
Bedrin has always loved to write and began her journalism journey by reporting for her college newspaper at Dartmouth. After graduating with a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, her journalism experience grew from newspapers to the world of broadcast reporting.
Entering the world of radio, Bedrin began working as a radio host, reporter, and anchor at the WFAE-90.7 FM radio located in Charlotte, N.C.
“Ultimately radio was just this wonderful intersection of many of my interests,” Bedrin said. “I really fell in love with radio and learned that there's more than just television journalism.”
Her daily routine never looked the same. She went from covering an announcement to doing newscasts and producing and covering stories. Bedrin’s radio duties were multiple recordings, filling airtime and long-hour evening shifts.
“You know you're writing,” Bedrin said.“You're using your voice. It [is] just the best.” With more experience, came a career shift in hours and responsibilities. Soon Bedrin was able to take more responsibility and entered the field of teaching.
Teaching became “more organic” after becoming a mother. She was asked to teach more classes, leading to more opportunities. Bedrin said that working as a journalist and a professor enriched one another, and it has been beneficial to work in a newsroom.
“They help each other,” she said. “You know you are always learning [and] I hope to continue to get more training, so [that] I can become better at both skill sets.”
Bedrin added that learning combined skills in the newsroom, technology, and language brings a new perspective to storytelling. Bedrin also teaches fourth-grade students and says there is a struggle at times to teach different age levels due to distractions and appropriate topics. Teaching has helped Bedrin realize that students can range differently according to what they are exposed to and what they are interested in learning.
Juggling many responsibilities can be overwhelming but Bedrin said that living a full life means you are pulled in different directions.
“I think it's hard to be a full-time parent and work part-time, [also] work full-time... there's a lot of tugs,” Bedrin said. “I'll sit down to work on something and then half an hour later, I have to take my kids somewhere.”
The many hats Bedrin wears do not stop during the weekends. She is a mother to two sons, a cat, a dog, and a lizard. After coming back from teaching, she starts a load of laundry and takes her youngest son to Hebrew School. While she's there, she sits and writes article drafts.
With a laptop and some dedicated time, it makes her job as a freelance journalist a little bit easier. Bedrin said it can be tempting to take a lot of freelance work because of the pay, leaving it difficult to turn down work when juggling other responsibilities.
“You want to strike when the iron's hot,” Bedrin said.“It's hard sometimes to say no.”
Handling multiple roles and responsibilities, she said, can be a challenge at times, but it also brings rewards. Bedrin being able to read and show her published work is an award for her journalist career.
“It's really nice to be able to show my students my work,” Bedrin said. “And it's nice to be able to answer questions so that if a student has a question about a story and I've written it, I can answer it.”
Being able to answer questions from stories and showing her students her freelance work are things that affect Bedrin, her, and her work. She strives to share relatable work with the different age levels she teaches.
Bedrin said it can be difficult and bring emotional exhaustion sometimes being a journalist but “working as a journalist means being privy to information that not everyone has” and reporting it “makes it a privilege.”
“Some stuff that you do is really exciting and some of it [can be] boring,” Bedrin said. “But you know, most of it is important.”
She said that being a journalist, no matter a person’s career level, remains a privilege and “an incredible way to spend your career.”
“And remember... you're supposed to be a voice for the voiceless.”
Beyond her journalism and education careers, Bedrin enjoys biking and swimming with her family. She is also passionate about writing stories that inspire and serve as a voice for people.
“It's not about your ego,” Bedrin said. “It's about, can you help people, [and] will your story help somebody.”
Esmeralda Arias can be reached at esmeralda.arias@student.shu.edu
