Gaining skills and having fun

I expect to get a lot of things out of these next seven days. First, I look forward to forging lasting and beneficial friendships and connections and becoming part of the Chips Quinn and Freedom Forum family. One thing I'm finding as I'm embarking on my journalism career is that everyone knows each other and is friends, and it's even like a family at The Arizona Republic and Gannett. I like that and look forward to becoming part of another family. I know that I'm a young and inexperienced journalist so I also want to learn anything and everything that I can from everyone here – I want to be a sponge and soak it all up and continue to grow in my journalistic skills. Additionally, I am hoping to build on and improve my multimedia skills. I am trained in digital photography, Soundslides and video, but I want to create better and more meaningful multimedia. Finally, I just want to have fun. I understand that I will be working hard, but I also want to enjoy myself and the experience of a new city.