When Nicole Stock crafted her first story idea for the Bark, it was completely crossed out with the words, ‘This is not a story.’ Now, Stock is an associate editor for the New York Times, working there for over two years. Her sixteen Bark articles became the foundation for her career in journalism.

Stock never thought of herself as a journalist and originally didn’t even think of taking a journalism class in high school. She credits her mom for helping guide her in the right direction.

“It was my mom who encouraged me to take Non-fiction and I really didn’t want to. The night before school started my sophomore year, I emailed my counselor and asked if there was any way I could change [my elective] to Non-fiction. I just felt like I should take it and that sent me down a path into journalism,” Stock said. 

Madi Barsi, a close friend of Stock, worked alongside her during their years in Bark. From the several outstanding articles she produced, Barsi could see Stock’s potential to become a profound writer.

“She was just super driven and motivated [and] always picked up stories that seemed to resonate with her. You could see [her] passion for [journalism],” Barsi said.

After reporting for the Bark, Stock went to Northwestern University to attend their esteemed Medill School of Journalism. She was able to find various internships working with audiences, something she wasn’t familiar with until her time at Northwestern. Audience work is finding information within a topic and distributing it to certain people, which is Stock’s specialty.

“I didn’t even know what [audience work] was when I was in college until I did an internship. I was immersed in this whole other side of journalism I didn’t know existed,” Stock said.  

Stock also explored the tech industry in college, interning for Facebook and eventually landing a job offer with the company. 

“[Stock] had an internship at Facebook, and they made her an offer that was quite substantial. Obviously, it was really attractive and would have compelled many people to move in that direction,” Barsi said. “She’s always made decisions with a lot of integrity and authenticity and she seemed to know that journalism was more authentic to who she is and how she can make a difference.” 

Stock loved her work and from there on, her passion for journalism grew. After realizing she wanted to pursue journalism as her career, Stock interned at the Chicago Tribune while in college, which later led to her receiving a full-time offer. After two years with the Tribune, Stock saw a job opportunity for The New York Times from one of her current colleagues. She applied for it, went through many interviews and got the job.

Currently working for The New York Times, Stock’s role is to find rising topics and figure out how to share them with various audiences in different ways.

“Every day is a little bit different. I work on the Well desk of The New York Times which does physical and mental health coverage and my specialty is audience. I am always trying to figure out how to find new readers and how we can get readers to our stories. So a lot of my day is structured around that,” Stock said.

Throughout her studies in college, Stock expressed confidence in journalism techniques due to the foundation she built in Bark.

“When I got to college, I was studying journalism and I felt like I already went in with that base of knowing how to call people, how to interview and how to reach out to people to find sources. [Knowing] how to transcribe interviews and the basics of a story [was very helpful],” Stock said.

Stock learned many valuable lessons through her experiences in Bark, providing motivation to go above and beyond.

“[In] Non-fiction, we were really encouraged to be skeptical, which is very important in journalism. You’re always asking questions and trying to see if there’s more to the story,” Stock said.

Stock’s journey from the Redwood Bark to The New York Times is a testament to her passion for journalism. She chose authenticity over a tempting tech offer, shaping a career driven by a commitment to her dream. From last-minute enrollment in the Non-fiction class to an associate editor at the Times, Stock’s story inspires others to keep an open mind and shows the impact that genuine dedication can have on a career path.