As one of the first members of my family to attend college, in-person and full time, my name is Laney Napoli, I am sophomore at Arizona State University at Walter Cronkite School for Mass Communication and Journalism and I am trailblazing my path into sports media.
I come from a Catholic and military family who moved all around the country looking for a place to settle their roots. That place ended up being Colorado after 15 years and four states.
Growing up a nomad did not deter me from accumulating a deep love for Colorado and Denver sports as I could be seen as a newborn adorning an orange Bronco onesie. Both of my parents are intense Colorado sports fans after being born and raised there and I am no different.
My parents split in 2020, after our first few months in Colorado and I became solely dependent on my mother; she is the reason I am writing this now and I am accomplishing something even she failed to do when she was my age.
I am nearing the end of my sophomore year at ASU and have now surpassed both my mother and father in my collegiate accomplishments by simply not failing or dropping out. I am not only the first of my parent’s to get this far, but I am the oldest of two siblings and I am the first child to be sent to college.
My dream ever since the fourth grade was to become a sideline reporter after first seeing a woman on the sidelines interviewing my own athletic heroes, and I knew, even at the age of 10, that is what I wanted to do in life.
After being a multi-sport athlete myself for 15 years, with a primary focus on soccer, the sport and athletic world has been a positive and challenging environment where I always find myself striving for more or better.
My soccer career ended my senior year of high school after my club team disbanded and I chose not to play in college to pursue a more academic outlook for the next phase of my life.
Choosing to be a part of ASU and Cronkite Nation was a decision that I came to after a very tumultuous and muddy breakup with my high school sweetheart that almost landed me at a small Division II school in Denver.
I had to make the decision to focus my studies on journalism, to move away from my family, to pursue a career I had always thought of myself in, rather than a safe and easy Communications degree from Metropolitan State University.
My time here at ASU and Cronkite has only validated my choices as I am beginning to see my own growth in my writing style, my confidence, my voice, after the two short years I have been a part of the program.
Making the jump to ASU, however, did not come without its risks as my mother and I both struggle with the financial burden of out-of-state tuition which can feel daunting at times, which always makes me question if it’s worth it.
Being financially independent in college is very difficult and I receive very little assistance from either of my parents when it comes to rent, food, gas, and textbooks or course enrollment due to their own financial circumstances.
While I am not employed full-time, I do need to work to support myself which has given me very unique experiences when compared with my roommates or friends who get monthly assistance from their parents.
My experience in media and journalism does not come from a family cemented in the industry, but from my own desire to make a name for myself. I fed this passion with different classes or extracurriculars in high school, like radio and yearbook, and in college I continue to discover different niches in media I would like to pursue. When I was young people would compliment my smile and my loud voice and I have let that guide me here, where I can make a career out of speaking to individuals and getting to know their background and stories.
Being a trailblazer in the media industry is daunting, being a trailblazer and a woman in the sports journalism world is even more terrifying, and even with my little anxieties I have found that I can do hard things, and I have a place in this industry just like all those before me.
