ABOUT JOHN BALADI

I am a senior at Saint Joseph Catholic School in Madison, Mississippi. I come from a loving family with 3 siblings and one brother-in-law. Growing up and especially now, stories were the one thing my parents loved telling about all of their children's youth, including my own. The story about myself they always loved telling was that of a birthday party. When I was six years old, my parents held my mom's fortieth birthday party at my house. This was right before the Pittsburg Steelers were set to face the Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl. The story goes that I spent my entire waking night having a discussion about the game and the entire previous season with one of their friends. Apparently, rather than sounding like a naive little six year old, I actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about.

This sparked a life of many interests and experiences that I am happy to say led me to creating this portfolio. I find it hard to define myself in one single aspect, but here are some of the things that led me to be the person I am today.

Soccer has had a massive impact on my life since the day I first touched a field at the age of four. In my recently ended fourteen year soccer career, I learned many important life lessons on the pitch. The idea that you are never defeated until the whistle blows, to forget your mistakes and simply learn from them for next time, and to celebrate your successes but never forget about the bigger picture. All these lessons I learned on the soccer field.

Soccer is probably the aspect of my life that has had the most effect on me that isn't sports journalism. The world of sports is one that always seems to bring people together. Now, of course, you have the occasional Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State argument, but in the world we live in, sports is something that always stays as a point of consistency in people's lives. The strategy, the drama, the fanatics, every aspect of sports is attractive to one person or another, and that is what I love so much about the games we play.

The opportunity to broadcast sports through radio production as well as stories through our award winning newscast, Bruin News Now, is one I would never take back. It has instilled in me a system of values of reporting as well as a way to relate to nearly every person around me. For more information about what led me to this program, check the Leadership tab of my portfolio.

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WELCOME TO MY JOURNALISM WEBSITE

On this website, you will find my journalism portfolio which dates all the way back to the fall semester, 2016. In my four years in the jour...