Q&A at the Capital-Journal

While back home in Topeka, Kan. for the holidays, I ended up on the other end of an interview.

After 32 hours of travel (comprising five airports, three airlines, one “airtrain,” and two cars) I arrived in Topeka at about 3 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19.

I then got myself a prepaid cell phone Monday the after a couple of days of family and festivities. On Tuesday afternoon it rang. Even I didn’t know the number.

On the other end of the line was Christina Hansen with the Topeka Capital-Journal who cited unnamed sources claiming I had indeed returned to Topeka for the holidays, and who had somehow ascertained my new cell number and wanted an interview. I was impressed.

So, I finished up some business, ordered a refill of the house Guatemala blend at Lola’s and headed down to the Cap-Journal, my old stomping ground in my glorious days as an intern.

My answers are abridged (but that’s only fair considering how longwinded I am when given the opportunity to talk about myself), but anyone still curious as to my rationale for moving to Georgia three weeks out of college should still find it interesting.

Topeka native Nick Clayton always knew he wanted to do something big with his life.

“I went through different stages of wanting to be an ornithologist and an astronaut,” Clayton said. “There was always the desire to get out, go far away and do interesting things.”

Clayton eventually forsook birds and space exploration and instead pursued a journalism degree. A month after graduating from college, he packed his bags for the Eastern European country of Georgia, where he has worked as a freelance journalist for the past six months.

Clayton sat down with the Capital-Journal Wednesday to share his experiences. Portions of the interview appear below.

Topeka Capital-Journal: How did you get into journalism as a career?

Nick Clayton: I was one of those really, really lucky souls that everyone hates that actually knew what he wanted to do early on in life. My dad always used to listen to NPR. There would always be these people chiming in reports from all over the world. I asked my dad, ‘What’s going on here? What’s the deal with so and so reporting from Rome?’ He said, ‘These guys are journalists. They live in these countries and they tell us what’s going on in them by interviewing people and reporting back to us.’ And I was like, ‘That’s a job? I want to do that.’

To read the rest of the article, click here.