Asia Jupiter says ask any of her friends and they will say when it comes to the Saints and Pelicans, as well as players like the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, that she is vocal about her sports.
“I was all for it from the very beginning and prepared months ahead. I have tablets and tablets of paper,” she said of information she keeps about her sports events dating back to the eighth grade. The Hahnville High School graduate writes about subjects like the Warriors and Rockets game, and then adds her opinions.
Even at 18 years old, Jupiter knows the game – and well. Her No. 1 goal is to work for ESPN.
“If I can reach that goal I know I can reach anything,” Jupiter said.
Although a torn ACL detoured her from her planned career of playing basketball, she is no less enthusiastic about the new direction she has taken that keeps her just as close to her passion – sports writing.
In fact, Jupiter loves writing so much her mother has to typically come to her room and tell her to turn off ESPN.
“But she needs to understand that is something I really love and I never get tired of it,” she said of her mother and added she got her passion for sports from her mother.It all came together for Jupiter when she went to a Journalism Education Association conference in Los Angeles, Calif., April 14 -17 and won a journalism award that convinced her that she had found her way back to her passion and in a topic she never expected.
“Taking cycling back one vegan at a time” was the title of her 300-word article that won her recognition.
Jupiter was given a real-life experience in interviewing and writing under deadline when she was put in a room with 70 other student writers to interview a vegan bicyclist. They had an hour to write the story, and she recalled how she focused on her perspective relating to the sport, as much as about the bicyclist.
Taking on a new topic was nerve wracking for her, right out of her comfort zone, but she recalled thinking that she’d done her best and worried about the stiff competition there had to be with the other students.
She definitely felt the heat of deadline and had to fight the panic.
“I really focused on cycling as a sport, and then I quoted her about being vegan and the big picture,” she said.She was joined by her mother and teacher Elbert DuPont at the awards presentation, all of them waiting until her category came up and she thought she’d be happy with honorable mention. One by one, the winners were named and then came the announcement, “Excellent. Asia Jupiter from St. Charles Parish Schools.”
This meant she won and Jupiter couldn’t believe it.
“I was like – maybe this is the correct field I’m going in,” she said. “This is fine and I should stick to it.”
She did, and the trip also let her see the ESPN building that nearly brought her to tears. Her mother couldn’t help but point out that this is something that she’d been waiting for most of her life. She also got to see the Magic Johnson statue.
Jupiter is now headed to Southeastern University to major in communications.
And, like many others, Jupiter was told she had a cool name at the journalism conference, too.
Her full name is Asia Lyn Jupiter. She got the name Jupiter from her grandparents and her mother just loved the name Asia.
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