Jim Lehrer
Washington, DC USA
"Make sure that the life you lead matters to others, because if it does, it will matter to you. If you do things that matter, you will feel that you matter."
Career Roadmap
Jim's work combines: Journalism, Writing, and Communicating / Sharing Stories
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
Start writing for your school paper and reporting on different topics at school.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Associate's Degree
Victoria College
Bachelor's Degree
Journalism
University of Missouri-Columbia
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life has been direct
1.
His dream growing up was to become a professional baseball player, but he was told in high school that he wasn’t good enough to play professionally.
2.
Had always been a good writer, so he began writing about sports for the school paper—by the time he graduated, he was the co-editor.
3.
His family didn’t have enough money to send him to a four-year state school or university, so they moved to Victoria, TX, where he attended the local community college, Victoria College.
4.
After graduating from Victoria College, he applied to 37 universities—got accepted into the Missouri School of Journalism at the University of Missouri.
5.
In 1956, was drafted into the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant during the Korean War—credits this experience with helping him feel a connection to world.
6.
He has worked as a reporter and correspondent for The Dallas Morning News, the Dallas Times-Herald, and NPACT, but his big break came in 1975 when he reported on the Watergate scandal for PBS.
7.
He is best known as being the anchor of PBS NewsHour—a position he held for over 30 years—and for being a prolific writer of several novels, plays, screenplays, and memoirs.
8.
Admits he is one of the rare people who found his passion early in life and did exactly what he set out to do.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Teachers:
You aren't good enough to be a baseball player, you should probably consider a different career.
How I responded:
Unfortunately, I listened (and they were probably right). But, I knew I loved sports, so even if I couldn't play professionally, I could report and write about sports. That completely changed the course of my life and helped me find my true passion.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I didn't have enough money to go to a 4-year university, so I went to a community college instead. Also, when I was just starting out in journalism I wasn't making a lot of money and was struggling to provide for my family.