Editor’s Note: This is the final installment of “Where are they now?,” a series on the successes and failures of University alumni.

A lesson for graduates: expect the unexpected.

Graduation leads many students into careers and higher education. Others still search for the answer to the question, “What am I going to do with my life?”

Glenn Orman caught a glimpse of his future and decided to head the opposite direction.

Sitting behind the counter of Firehouse Package Store on Broad Street, this is the last place Orman expected to be – biding his time while he decides which law school he will attend in the fall.

Orman graduated last May with a degree in journalism and education. He is just one of many students choosing a different profession.

Orman walks like a reporter, striding into the room clad with confidence and a pair of dark sunglasses. He is articulate and direct as he recounts his experience as a reporter and the moments when he began to doubt his future as a journalist.

It’s 7 a.m. on a Friday, and Orman’s phone is ringing, but it’s not his alarm. It’s another disgruntled University official livid about what he believes to be a misquotation. “I used to joke some administrators had my cell phone on speed dial,” he says with a smirk.

As a former editor-in-chief of The Red & Black, Orman has plenty of experience with the editorial process. Outgoing and inquisitive, it is no surprise Orman experienced the aftermath of uncovering stories that did not always please his readers.

Initially, he envisioned life as a sports reporter for the NFL. Orman lights up when he talks about football. He rambles off facts, figures and names without hesitation. Sports are his passion.

While attending a professional conference, Orman saw his idealized vision was not reality. Instead, he observed exhausted sports reporters who hated the subject they once loved. “Nine out of 10 reporters I met were telling me, ‘Jesus, don’t do this.’”

After observing sports reporters at the conference, he questioned if he, too, would lose his enthusiasm after the first hard years of covering high school sports.

More importantly, he was not willing to sacrifice long hours and low pay to live life out of a suitcase. “I eventually decided I needed to keep my passion for sports separate from my career.”

According to Orman, law school is easier to navigate than the changing journalism industry. “Newspapers and magazines are in a transition. Today, by the time most people pick up a newspaper, they already know the news. So journalists find a way to answer the question, ‘Why should I read this?’”

Law school, he claims, provides a different challenge, and also a better paycheck.

Though some of his friends accuse him of “selling out,” Orman does not apologize for his choice.

“Most of my friends from The Red & Black love what they do, but I think I became disillusioned. Journalism is made out to be really cool, but I saw a lot of the news industry most people don’t. I think I came to the right decision.”

- Mara Betsch