Biography

Alexandra Cannon

Hey there, my name is Alex Cannon, and I'm a journalism major at the University of Texas. I've lived lots of different places growing up, including Nacogdoches, Marquez, and Huntsville, but claim the town I spent my junior high and high school years, a small town called Mexia, pronounced muh-HEY-uh. I graduated from a high school in a neighboring town, Groesbeck High School, ranked 5 out of 118. 

I work at Whataburger and have since my junior year of high school. I actually enjoy my fast food industry job, though I aspire to do much more than flip burgers with my life. The supervisor of the store I currently work at has discussed the possibility of getting me a job in the Public Relations department of Whataburger Headquarters after I earn my degree in Journalism.

I am infatuated with Mexican culture and the Spanish language and hope to study abroad in Mexico or South America sometime during my college career. I hope to double major in Spanish or Mexican American Studies, and if I don't land a job as a journalist or writer, I hope to make a career in that area some way, interpreting or translating or doing research in the field.

I'm the second oldest of five, three sisters and one brother, and my two younger sisters and I often are mistaken for triplets. My dad works as a network administrator for Mexia ISD, and my mom taught English and pioneered a journalism program at Groesbeck High School before passing away in a motorcycle accident a little over a year ago. She is the one who inspired me to major in journalism, and encouraged my aspirations as a writer. I hope to become a published author someday.

My plans for after college are still very much airborne. Coming into college, I thought I knew EXACTLY what career I hoped to have, but after a year of school, the only thing I am certain about is my passion for writing and desire to learn about other cultures.

As a freshman, I don't have much experience in the field of journalism, other than competing in the UIL journalism events in high school and advancing to state in News writing my senior year, where I placed 6th. My high school did not have a newspaper, but my mom attempted to start one. There school was small and very few were interested, so we didn't make as much headway as we had hoped. The program is still in tact, however, and making small, slow steps in the right direction.