Sister Lambert shares parting lessons she learned as a journalist and as an adviser for over 20 years for Ke Alaka'i
Though unsure what retirement will look like, LeeAnn Lambert, Ke Alaka'i adviser originally from California, said she will miss spending time with students. “I hang out with students at work, I teach courses, and that's going to be hard because the students here are great,” she said.
As an adviser to Ke Alaka'i, Lambert said the work was more than editing, and it was more about empowering students. “Ke Alaka'i is a wonderful creative outlet. When I saw what [the team] could do in five weeks for the [photography and literature] issue, it was amazing.” She said she will miss the creativity, the ability to gather information, and being able to present projects in an engaging, informative way.
Lambert recalls her journey into journalism, which began with a suggestion from her mother. “My mother suggested that I major in journalism in college. I started taking news writing classes, and I loved it.” Eventually, she was hired as a writer at Brigham Young University’s daily newspaper, five days a week, she shared.
Over the years, Lambert said she served in multiple roles working as a writer, senior writer, editor, and editor-in-chief at BYU. “News writing is a hard profession. It's time-consuming, challenging, a lot of research, and can be considered negative. Plus, it doesn't pay great. But it pays better now than it used to,” she added.
Her transition to Brigham Young University–Hawaii came through a phone call, said Lambert. She said she received a call from the university saying that someone from BYU recommended her to work there. “I got a call from Napua Baker, who was the vice president of University Communications, and after 20 minutes of learning about the mission and the students, I had a change of heart after talking to her, and they hired me,” she shared.
Throughout her career, Lambert said some of her most valuable lessons came from trial and error. She recalled writing an article about shifting the academic calendar, which taught her a key journalism principle. “I would submit the story, but my editors would say it isn’t complete. I do remember that story because it taught me that the more points of view you can include in an article, the better it is,” she shared.
Lambert also stressed the importance of suspending judgement in interviews. “When you assume things about people, you're gonna be wrong. Also the more you can tell people what you’re hoping to gain or what you’re trying to find out, the more they are open to sharing with you,” she continued. She said interviewers need to ask people about their experiences and let them tell their story.
Even as the industry evolves, Lambert said the fundamentals of storytelling remain the same. “You change as your skills and abilities change. The storytelling part of it is the same. You still have to be able to gather information and interview people,” she continued.
Lambert said her best question when conducting an interview is asking if there is something she did not ask that she needs to know. She said journalists often do not know what questions they need to ask. “Some people will only answer the questions you ask them. The best stories come from, what did I not ask that I need to know?” she explained.
Lambert offered advice for women pursuing journalism or any field that may seem intimidating. “I guess particularly for women who are interested in this field or any field that may be beyond what they perceive themselves to be in, don't be afraid of trying stuff out because you may find that that is what you love to do,” she continued. She said there are so many interesting things to do at different times in your life. “If you feel inspired to do something, you should do it,” she shared.
As she prepares for retirement, Lambert said her future includes writing family stories, organizing history archives, and possibly traveling. “I wrote both my mother’s and father’s personal life stories, and I’ve also been working on a series of funny stories about my mom narrated by her grandchildren,” she shared.
Lambert said her sister has already saved family history photos and documents for her to work on. “I’m the one in the family who tracks everyone’s addresses, birthdays, and phone numbers. I guess I’m the family historian,” she added.
As she steps into retirement, Lambert said everyone has a story to tell, and she hopes anyone who has met her remembers this about her. “I hope people remember me as someone who genuinely loves people. I really do love people. I hope people realize that I have a testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, too,” she shared.