As the next generation of journalists is about to take over, Valerie Kibler has hope for the future.

Kibler, the 2022 director of Jcamp at JMU, has been teaching journalism for 30 years. She started teaching English 35 years ago and after five years of English, she switched to Journalism because of the promise of her own classroom.

“I have grown to love it; I hate teaching English. It’s so awful. The stuff that kids write is awful compared to what they do for journalism.”

 However, Kibler says the connections between her students is her favorite part. 

“I have been invited to weddings and am now teaching the kids of previous kids,” she said thinking about the differences between teaching English and journalism and how journalism consumes her.

“My weakness, and I wish I could be better at this, is stopping to take the time to have fun.”

Kibler has a strong opinion about young journalists and how journalism needs to change. 

“Journalism in this country really sucks right now and it’s time to get back to telling the truth without worrying about who’s paying us and what their interests are. It’s a hard job and there’s no respect in it like there used to be and it takes a lot of character and integrity to go for it. Not just in journalism but in society, young kids get a bad rep. And I wish America knew that kids are still dedicated to working hard and doing the right thing.”