Padua Students Interview Air Force Member

Padua+Students+Interview+Air+Force+Member

“Find the most interesting part of your story and exploit it. It makes stories so much better. What I have to do is like being put into a box. I’m not writing for myself” Photojournalism, Airman Chip Slack gave these words of advice via Facetime to students in Ms. Wrambel’s creative writing class. Airman Slack takes pictures and writes articles for the Cannon Air Force base in New Mexico. He is the person on the base who is responsible for telling, “the Air Force story.”  

Slacks’s photography is jaw dropping enough to stand alone, but the stories make the pictures all the more meaningful. He tells the class, “I love meeting those people with crazy, intense, deeply emotional stories. What I do gives their stories substance and gives them a platform to share them.” Slack uses his stories as a way to express the messages of the people of the Air Force. Through crisp photos and moving memoirs, the stories of the military come to life under Airman Slack.

“When I was younger, I thought you graduate high school, go to college, and then you’re successful,” Slack said, “I never thought of the military or the things I do as a career, but you find your passion in unexpected places.”

What I do gives their stories substance and gives them a platform to share them.

— Airman Chip Slack

Slack sees his career as a blessing. He told the class that he worked so hard to get his job that he will never take it for granted. “There’s always a story to tell. Find a connection, dig deep, and write in a way you’re proud of.”

He also spoke about the emotions of reporting those stories. “It’s incredibly hard to see some things. Domestic violence, suicide, murder on the base, we have to document it,” Slack said, “Putting a camera to my eyes while there is a child sitting there crying is one of the most cruel things. I’m in the military but I am human, sometimes I just want to hug some people. Removing myself and trying not to get emotionally invested is so hard. You can’t hold on to emotions. It’s hard to write about the things they tell you about.” Slack told the class that all the photos he’s taken, if anything, made him more emotional.

Ms. Wrambel’s class was captivated by their discussion with Slack. From the questions they asked to the way they listened for the hour they were there, the class hung on his every word. His advice was very well received, especially by a group of aspiring writers.