Why I Want to Do a Masters in Journalism
I will never forget the moment that I was struck by the power of the media: it was December 15, 2020, and it forever changed my life. I had spent the last two years doing everything imaginable to force the Israeli government to respond to my appeal regarding my citizenship request. The law clearly stated that the Ministry of the Interior was required to answer within 45 days, but two years later there had been only silence. They ignored the follow-up letters from my lawyers. They ignored the Ombudsman’s request. They ignored a letter written by a Member of the Knesset which she not only personally handed to the Minister of the Interior but also publicly posted on her Instagram and Twitter accounts after he ignored her.
Then on December 7, 2020, my story was covered on the front page of a major newspaper. All of a sudden the ministry resumed contact with my lawyers, and a week later they reversed the decision which had been in question. Unfortunately, I was not granted citizenship, but my Visa was upgraded and we were finally able to start dealing with the problem that we suspected was the underlying issue from the start: I am an ex-con.
Ten years ago I was released from Federal prison. From day one I ran into many roadblocks, but through hard work and perseverance, I ultimately found work as a personal trainer. I quickly rose through the ranks at the gym where I worked until I left to open my own personal training studio. Then I decided to pursue a career as a physical therapist. I was accepted into an undergraduate program studying exercise science and became a straight-A student, while also increasing my community service involvements. I knew that with having a criminal record, I would have to be head and shoulders above other candidates to have a chance of being accepted into one of the hyper-competitive physical therapy graduate programs. I eventually received admission offers from two of the top ten PT programs in the country, and I chose the one that I believed would help me best achieve my long-term goals — the University of Florida.
My primary goal was to help end the opioid epidemic in the United States. I was involved in the illegal selling of oxycodone on the streets and I had seen firsthand the damage it was creating, particularly the violence, theft, and death that surrounded it. I knew that many people got their first hit from a doctor’s prescription to manage pain from an injury. In my experience as a trainer working with physical therapists, I had learned that many of these injuries could be treated through movement, and I wanted to bring that knowledge to everyone. If we could use movement instead of drugs fewer lives would be ruined.
Unfortunately, I was not informed that being admitted to the graduate school did not grant me permission to attend the program. Unlike every other prospective student, I was required to apply to the “university” as well. During this unfair process, I attempted to get media coverage, but I was always ignored. In the end, the university deemed me ineligible for admission, solely because of my criminal record.
I was crushed and thinking about how hard I was working to make America a better place made me sick. America didn’t care about me and never had. Like my ancestors, before me, I was regarded as less than human and it felt like no one was interested in fighting for my rights. Since my American dream was dead I saw no point in remaining. Judaism had helped me change my life, so I wanted to help other Jews, and there was no better place to do that than in Israel. I was naive, however, to think that my US criminal record wouldn’t follow me overseas; it did and I quickly ran into the same problem.
Once again I was being treated unfairly but this time I didn’t allow myself to be marginalized. Instead of appealing directly to news outlets and hoping my cause would be taken up, I started to document my own story in Facebook posts that could be shared. My posts led to podcast appearances, new followers, and more connections. Soon I became a one-man PR firm. As I continued to write and speak two things started to happen: I became a better storyteller and I accumulated resources to keep fighting.
When I decided to become a physical therapist I believed that I would fight to change the world by teaching movement. Now I see that the battle to improve the world is fought with words. Words are the most powerful force in human history when we use them to tell stories. By turning my suffering into a story I was able to turn my words into a voice that people were willing to listen to.
I distinctly remembered not having the words to express my feelings following the murder of Freddie Gray. I watched my city burn, the fire fueled by the frustration of many unheard voices. But when I saw the video of George Floyd begging for air I had the words. I had been documenting my own story and suddenly the words flowed out. As a Black man with a criminal record I knew it could have been me under that, or another, officer’s knee. I saw the reaction and knew everyone was missing a major point. The police officer was in the wrong, and needed to be punished — but no one wanted to look in the mirror and see how together we are all creating the environment that caused this shocking incident, and many other atrocities that do not capture our national attention.
When we burden Black felons with so many hardships both during incarceration and after release and deny them the opportunities to better themselves, we are all suffocating them. This leads to desperation which forces them into dangerous situations. We can’t only fight against those caught physically suffocating Black men on video, we also need to fight for the rights of Black men with criminal records being suffocated in other ways. The mistreatment of Black felons, one-third of all Black men, is one of the major injustices that is holding back the Black community as a whole and American society at large.
My feelings became a piece I published on Medium, which was well received. Following its success, I was approached by a Literary agent who encouraged me to write my own memoir. I have 3 chapters written and we will be submitting a book proposal this September.
I realized through working on my memoir that I don’t just want to tell my story, I also want to tell the stories of others. This led me to your program. By teaching fitness, I learned that consistent practice with proper feedback is how you achieve success. This program will give me the opportunity to practice my craft and get professionally critiqued to help me develop as a writer. Much of my success as a fitness coach came from finding good mentors, and I am excited by the mentorships the program offers that will further my writing development.
I want to become the most powerful storyteller that I can be. Our world is filled with injustices and many people haven’t found a voice that can make the world pay attention to their suffering. Many of these people need others to tell their stories for them. We can still save the next George Floyd by taking notice and changing our society for the better. I need the best words at my disposal as well as the network to bring those voices to the world. I believe this program can help get them there.
