In Chapter 8 of 11 in his 2011 interview, education reporter Yoav Gonen answers "What Role Has Family Played in Shaping Your Career Aspirations?" Gonen notes how he was a late bloomer and was uncertain where to take his career in the years after college. Gonen's father sees his passion for writing and suggests Yoav apply to a journalism graduate program. The rest is history. Yoav Gonen is the education reporter for the New York Post newspaper in New York City. He earned a Masters of Journalism degree from New York University and a BA in English from the University of Michigan.
Transcription:
Erik Michielsen: What role has family played in shaping your career aspirations?
Yoav Gonen: I was a late bloomer. I remember quite vividly when I was on the phone with my - it might have been both my parents, I definitely remember my mom was on the phone, my parents pretty much paid for all of my undergrad college, and I told my mom that I was signing up for a pottery class and she said, "You're gonna be paying for that class, because I'm not." And, you know, they were always - they pressured me a little bit but not too much, I mean, they were trying to help me figure out what to do.
It took me a long time, interestingly, it was my dad who - I don't really know - it seemed kind of out of left field at the time but he's - I was, I think in my mid-20s, and he's like, "Maybe you should go to journalism school." And, you know, I enjoyed writing but I wasn't on my college newspapers staff or anything like that. He kind of threw that out there over dinner one time and it struck me, you know, I don't know why I hadn't considered it but it seemed like a good idea and as soon as I got to journalism school, I knew that was I wanted to do.