Federal Way Public Schools Alumni of Note
Natalie Jarvey
Technology Reporter - Los Angeles Business Journal
Thomas Jefferson High School
Graduate, Class of 2006
Natalie Jarvey has always been an inquisitive person and skilled with words. So a career as a newspaper reporter was a perfect fit.
Jarvey, a 2006 Thomas Jefferson High School grad, is currently working as a technology reporter for the Los Angeles Business Journal, a weekly publication with a print circulation of about 30,000 and an additional 12,000 online subscribers.
Jarvey faced fierce competition to earn her position at the newspaper. With circulation and advertising revenue going down at newspapers across the country, job prospects for recent college graduates are growing fewer. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of news analysts, reporters and correspondents is expected to decline six percent in upcoming years.
Internships and work on her college paper helped Jarvey stand out from other applicants, she said. "I actively sought out internships during college so that I would have journalism experience that extended beyond the classroom. I was also an editor at the USC student newspaper the 'Daily Trojan.' Being both a reporter and an editor for these publications gave me the experience that I needed for a job post-graduation."
Many of the skills Jarvey uses on the job she developed as a student in Federal Way Public Schools. She attended Lake Dolloff Elementary, Kilo Middle School and Thomas Jefferson High School. She went on to attend the University of Southern California and earn a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in print journalism and a minor in international relations.
During her college years, Jarvey traveled across the world. "I was very lucky to be able to travel while I was in college," she said. "In 2008, I was an intern for NBC during the Beijing Olympics and worked in Beijing for a month. It was my first time traveling outside North America and it was a great place to kick off my traveling experiences. A year later, in the spring of 2009, I studied abroad in Paris. Because travel throughout Europe is so easy, I was able to take a lot of side trips and made my way to many of the big European capitals."
Participating in the International Baccalaureate program at Thomas Jefferson was critical in helping prepare Jarvey for college, she said. "IB teaches students to think less about the facts and figures and more about how to apply that information to the bigger picture. Because of the teachers in the IB program, I felt very prepared for the level of work that college required."
In addition to taking challenging classes, Jarvey made the most out of her high school experience by participating in extracurricular activities. She was a varsity member of the cross country and track teams each year and also served on the student council and as president of the French Club.
Jarvey's most influential teacher was the one who helped her love of writing blossom. "All of the IB teachers that I had were wonderful, but one of the most important teachers I had was my eighth grade history and English teacher, Scott McLaughlin," she said. "I think my interest in writing really began in his class. He was also very helpful in encouraging me to pursue my goals, even editing my college application essays."
Jarvey offers the following advice to current students: "In high school, I was very concerned with having a plan for what I would do after I graduated – what college I would attend, what I would study, etc. But I’ve realized that it isn’t always necessary to have a plan. As long as you pursue something that you’re interested in, the plan usually falls into place on its own."