What makes Michelle Gininger happy is hearing other people’s stories.
“You hear the most bizarre things,” she said.
The 19-year-old College of Communication junior is majoring in photojournalism and graduates in December 2008.
“I’m trying to get out of college,” she said
Born in Centreville, Va, just outside Washington, D.C., Michelle has lived in the same house her whole life. Her dream job is to work at the Washington Post.
When she was in 10th grade, she picked up a camera for the first time. It was her older brother’s. She now more than1,000 photographs on her computer. She mostly takes pictures of people and sports, even though she does not like sports.
“Your portfolio is only as good as your weakest picture,” she said.
Michelle says her weakest picture is the portrait of a guy who plays street music in the Boston Common. Her favorite photograph is of a transvestite praying in a church in Washington, D.C.
Daniel Dahlman, a junior at Boston University majoring in advertising, first met Michelle after they both transferred to the College of Communications.
“She was friendly and bubbly as hell,” Daniel says.
She framed a picture of a high school basketball game, which has made it on the Associated Press wire. Daniel expects Michelle to become “a world-class photographer.”
Michelle collects art books. They are expensive but her uncle gives them to her for free. One book is by Carol Guzy, whom Michelle met while she interned for the Washingtonpost.com in the summer of 2007.
“She is amazing. I want to be like her,” Michelle said.
This summer Michelle is excited to work for whom she calls the “bad guys” at the Washington Times, the Post’s competitors.
Michelle says she wanted to be a writer, but changed to photojournalism because she didn’t want to be a “poor novelist.”
“I learned to love journalism,” she said. “I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Her parents and brother support her. The only thing they don’t support is her singing, said Michelle. She said she has a horrible voice.
Her friend Lindsey Graves, a junior at George Mason, has known Michelle for five years. She described her as outgoing, social, understanding and great at giving advice.
“She can make me laugh, even when I’m in the worst mood,” she said.
Lindsey says following Michelle’s advice during a time of social anxiety during her freshman year in college has made her “extremely happy.”
Nadia Murabit, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, described Michelle as determined, independent, warm and mature.
“She talks about photojournalism in a passionate way,” she said.
Nadia expects her friend to succeed.
Michelle graduated from high school a year early because she didn’t like the environment. While still in high school, she interned at the Centerview newspaper, writing stories and taking photographs. Her most memorable story was about the recovery of a woman who had breast cancer.
Michelle has a 7-year-old cat named Peaches.
“He is a sweetie,” she said.