Ethan Nickel
Olney Enterprise is bidding farewell to our editor-in-training, Ethan Nickel, after one year and nine months. Ethan is relocating to Oklahoma on a full-time basis to be closer to his wife, Whitnie, who is completing medical school.
“I plan on moving to Tulsa full-time with my wife, who is in her second year of medical school. She will be doing her rotations for the next two years, and I just wanted to be able to be with her and improve my marriage. It has been difficult doing back and forth,” Nickel said.
Nickel began with Olney Enterprise as an intern in June 2019, right after he graduated from Southwestern Oklahoma State University (SWOSU). He was a student in the pharmacy program but decided to change his major to mass communications. Since working at Olney Enterprise, Nickel said he had found a passion for news writing, and coupled with his love for sports, he hopes to merge the two by entering the field of sports communications.
“I don’t currently have a job, but I am searching for something in sports. I would love to find something with the Tulsa pro baseball team where I can use my public relations knowledge,” Nickel said.
Nickel began working on his master’s degree when he started working officially at Olney Enterprise in August 2019. He completed the program and graduated May 14. He said he is also interested in pursuing opportunities to teach on the collegiate level.
“My advice to my students or any student who is currently enrolled in college is that there is nothing like hands-on experience. Seek opportunities to complete an internship program before you graduate so you can put the things you learn in school to the test,” Nickel said. “I do think that what I learned in college helped me when I was interning. At the end of the day, there’s really nothing like the real-world experience of being in the workforce. And I’ve grown so much since then. There’s just a huge difference between being in the classroom and being in the real world, but I’ve definitely learned more in the past two years.”
While reflecting on the transition from the classroom to the newsroom, Nickel shared the most challenging task for him as he attempted to navigate the real world immediately after college.
“In college, I was mainly around people in my age group between the ages of 18-25. I had to become accustomed to dealing with people of all age groups, whether it was the elementary students or high school students or covering events at the senior citizens home. I had to get to know how to communicate with people of all ages and how to build relationships with every group.
“I am thankful to the Perry Foundation and Olney Enterprise staff for allowing me to work here right out of college. I will always have fond memories of the Enterprise. My parents are still working with Olney ISD, and they are not planning to leave, so I will be back here to visit. I am also thankful to the community for being so welcoming to me,” Nickel concluded.