About me

Hello, JN217. My name is Ryland Bickley and I'm excited to be a part of this class spring term. 

I've been around journalism for a while now, but this is regrettably the first class on it I've taken since high school. This is also my last term at LBCC, so I'm hoping to make the most out of it. 

I'm a communications major planning on transferring to Oregon State starting fall term to complete my bachelor's degree. My goal is to work in media, especially journalism, once I graduate. 

Outside of school, my two biggest interests are music and football. I play guitar and have taken a bunch of music classes at LB. I'm a fan of the classics but currently I've been listening to a lot of new releases in the indie pop and rock scene, with some of my top bands this month being Magdalena Bay, Fontaines D.C., Men I Trust, and The Lemon Twigs. I've also spent some time exploring the local scene. 

And then there's football – my obsession for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately, I was never that good at it when I played in high school (some good track and soccer memories make up for that), but watching it, analyzing it, and writing about it are still part of my daily routine. A side job of mine is writing about the Pittsburgh Steelers for SB Nation's Behind the Steel Curtain. I graduated from volunteer writing to becoming a member of the staff in 2023, and it's been a blast. 

Me at the famous "Immaculate Reception" wax figure at the Pittsburgh airport.

I love spending time with my family and I've been getting into cooking. I've also been working to reignite my love of reading books and going on hikes. 

At LBCC, I'm also the editor of our student-run publication, The Commuter. That's been a big part of my life this school year and a fantastic learning experience. 

I'm taking this class for a few reasons: One is that I finally had the opportunity open up to take it. I started at LBCC as a music major before switching to communications, meaning all my elective credits were eaten up by courses like choir, theory, and music production. 

Now in my last term, I've hit graduation requirements and can just take some courses for fun and personal enrichment. Journalism is a big part of my life – and hopefully my future – so I want to learn as much as I can. It also helps that this class is taught by the awesome Rob Priewe, who advises The Commuter and has been such a wonderful resource for me during my time in college. 

Plus, feature writing has always been my favorite genre of journalism to write. Being able to put together features as my homework and not on top of my homework sounds too good to be true. 

But the way college works, I'll still find a way to be incredibly busy. Oh well. 

Three goals for this term (beyond simply becoming a better writer): 

1. Make every deadline, even a bit early if possible. 

2. Become a more confident, curious interviewer. 

3. Consistently find interesting and creative story topics.