NGU student breaks into the Wall Street Journal with gambling story
Ava Henderson, Staff Writer
Photo by Ava Henderson
Eli Thompson, sophomore sports management major at North Greenville University wrote a story that was got published in a major newspaper: The Wall Street Journal. This wasn’t for a class or specifically for the newspaper. It was done simply for fun but turned into so much more.
Thompson wrote his story on a major problem that was affecting the lives of many of his friends and ended up having an impact on his life as well. He wrote about gambling and how it can turn into a serious addiction if not controlled.
In his story, he mentioned that gambling, specifically on sports as it was the case of his friends, can start as something harmless but can quickly become a bad habit. He then tells stories of his friends and how they started making one or two simple bets and over time it became detrimental to their lives, forcing them to need second jobs just to cover the costs.
This all leads into why Thompson wrote this story. It wasn’t for a class. It was all for fun, or so he thought.
“I just love writing and got bored one day over winter break and decided to write the story on the first thing that came to my mind,” Thompson said. “I also decided why not make it something meaningful just in case something were to happen with it one day.”
Having experienced the pains of a gambling addiction firsthand from his friends, he had motivation to write a story that other people don’t experience the same thing he did. If they are experiencing it, they can know they aren’t alone and that there is a way to handle it.
Why he wrote the story was to tell the story of his friends and explain to others how gambling can become a major problem if not done responsibly.
“It was something that meant a lot to me and had a big impact on my life,” Thompson said. “It also impacted those very close to me and I wanted to get their stories out there.”
His friends were major gamblers, and this can be seen in the stories Thompson wrote about. He wanted to share how it took a toll on their lives and how it impacted their relationships with him.
He had an idea and went with it, and was able to back it up with real stories. He had a lot to say on the subject because he has experienced it and knows personally how hard it is to watch and deal with.
The inspiration behind the story was to try and explain why it’s a problem. This is because it can start as something that isn’t a big deal but can turn into something that breaks your bank account. Thompson wants to help as many people as he can to not fall into the same trap.
Thompson said, “I want to help people who are struggling with the same thing my friends were and I want people to know how serious the consequences can be.”
Getting into the Wall Street Journal was not an automatic thing. The process took a little over a month and took lots of editing and revising to make the story Wall Street worthy.
He submitted it after having a friend read over it and being told that it was worth trying to get published. Once he emailed them the story and his pitch, which is what the story is about, he had to wait for the lifestyle editors of the Wall Street Journal to get back to him. Once they did, he touched up parts that needed to be fixed and resubmitted it. After doing this, the lifestyle editors did their final edits and published it in the Wall Street Journal.
“My friend helped me work on it since it was his idea to get it published. After about a month of working on it, it finally got published and I was very shocked,” Thompson said.
He didn’t think he would ever be able to publish a story in a newspaper as big as the Wall Street Journal and is very grateful for the opportunity he had to make an impact on people’s lives. Thompson hopes the people who read this story take his advice and get the help they need.
