Journal Entry II

The following is part of a series of reposted journal entries made for a reporting class I am taking right now. They aren't particularly edited, or necessarily even interesting (though hopefully they are), but they do a pretty good job of expressing what I am doing right now. And, of course, they are pre-made content. Reader beware.

Journal Entry 2: Snowden Program

When I spoke with Greg Kerber in the onset of this year, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to graduate with the rest of this year’s fourth-year students. I will have to wait until at least next fall. Still, I hoped to use that time in effective ways, and I think that I have. I converted my political science minor in a double major, began learning much more about photojournalism and multimedia, and found more time to succeed in the courses I was taking.

However, I also want to continue my education through the summer, in an attempt at wringing the most knowledge from my undergraduate education as I can. Kerber recommended that I look into getting a summer internship, preferably in my field of interest. While fulfilling my field of interest might be difficult, I know that many of the smaller newspapers here and around the area would give me valuable insight into the journalism industry – an industry I remain unsure about.

When the Snowden program was mentioned, it perked my interest. I looked into the program, and it seems to be what I was looking for. A mix of journalism skills, with opportunities for writing and photography, independence and mentorship. But, I feel that the program could be better advertised. While there are a variety of boards and e-mail lists available to students about activities around Allen Hall, they tend to be last minute affairs, with information being distributed shortly before it is obsolete.

It is very frustrating, and I complain only because I don’t know what else to do about it. For a school of communication, it seems to fair poorly when tasked to inform. This holds true for telling first- and second-year students about class availability, telling students about the role of the tech support office, or simply giving people notice about upcoming events in time for them to schedule time to attend.