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"The Hilltop Has No Sick Days"

By Maya Gilliam
Black College Wire

As I walked into the Hilltop office at Howard University for the first time, I saw a sign that read, "The Hilltop Has No Sick Days." I remember thinking, "It can't be that serious."

Photo credit: New York Times Institute Maya Gilliam

It was the second semester of my freshman year. I had just been promoted from photographer to photo editor. My first night in the Hilltop office gave me a rude awakening to what I would experience from then on.

Back then, the computers were outdated and slow. It would take an hour to do something that should take 15 minutes. The computers would freeze, the Internet would be down and it could be 3 a.m. Meanwhile, you would have a midterm at 8:10 that same morning. You were not going anywhere, because the bottom line was that the paper must come out.

A dedicated staff set aside their lives to make that happen. Quitting was not an option.

The good friends, long talks and hysterical laughing that spouted at all hours in the morning kept me going. The Hilltop is like a way of life for me now. My body is trained to be up until 4 a.m. every Wednesday and Sunday during production nights.

In spite of my extreme exhaustion from being in the office for hours on end, I felt that all my work had paid off when I walked across the yard the next day and saw students sitting on a bench reading the paper, with my photo large on the front page, even though I know most people don't even pay attention to the credits.

As a photographer, I am always on call. If a breaking news story happens on campus, The Hilltop will be the first media organization there, no matter what. I have learned to always keep my camera with me. There is a good chance that I would be walking to class and see a campus police officer asleep on the job or a car crash in front of the Towers. Snap. It will be in the next issue.

For all the time and energy I spend in the office, it pays off 10 times over. All of my internships, networking, experience, friendships, money and job opportunities have come from this very place.

The Hilltop has opened so many doors for my future. I would not be where I am today without the grace of God and the paper.

Currently, I am the assistant to an NBA photographer for the Washington Wizards. I have assisted professional photographers at the 2005 NBA All-Star Weekend and the 2004 NBA draft, and I have shot photos of President Bush at the commencement of Louisiana State University.

The Hilltop has taught me how to survive when it is crunch time. As the senior photo editor and third-year veteran of the nation's No. 1 collegiate publication (and that is not just HBCUs, that's the white schools too), I am proud to say that we will honor the pioneers who paved the way for us.

We will take The Hilltop to another level by going daily.

So rest assured, if it happens on Monday, you will see it in the paper on Tuesday. It's as we say in the office, "The revolution will not be televised, but it will be in The Hilltop."

Maya Gilliam is a student at Howard University on the staff of The Hilltop.

Posted Feb. 28, 2005