Worn out – and grateful

I'm worn out by the past eight days but at the same time I'm confident and energized. Everything about this week – the training, the orientation sessions, the coaches and more – has been beneficial and has eased my concerns about making the transition from student to reporter.

That positive experience is especially true of the relationships I've formed. The staff was incredible, and I loved having alums of the program join us for the orientation sessions and multimedia training. Talking to them and hearing about their experience has been encouraging for me because I was feeling uncertain about my future in journalism. I questioned whether I had what it took and if I'd be able to survive. These Chipsters and their successes, coupled with all the sessions, made me feel more confident and secure.

I truly feel like I'm a part of this family now. I feel as if I have a strong support network. I'm grateful to everyone for all they did and for the opportunity of being a Chips Quinn Scholar.

Dynamic duo

The session led by Edd Bowser and Javacia Harris, he a copy editor and she a reporter at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., about the first five graphs of a story has been the most beneficial so far. The beginning of a story is always the most difficult part for me. The way Edd and Javacia broke down the key elements helped make the task seem less formidable. The mock press conference helped drive the lessons home and gave me the opportunity to attempt everything they had just talked about. It was interactive and simplified. I could relate to what they said and how they presented it, and thus I could understand it. I now have more confidence in my ability to write compelling leads and opening graphs using the formula they gave. I know my leads won't all read the same because the formula is so flexible and leaves room for creativity. It's not often that a session resonates with me as much as this one did, and I know it will stick with me long after I leave here.

Fresh eyes for Facebook

I've never been a fan of social networking sites. In fact, I've been skeptical, resistant -- especially when it comes to Facebook. The more that people told me I should be on Facebook, the less I wanted to be. But after about two years I gave in and joined.

I enjoy Facebook but still, I never really saw much value in it other than an easy way to keep in touch with friends (all of whom I know outside of the cyber world so I can just as easily communicate with them in a more preferred way) and distant family, and to share things like photos with a bunch of people at once.

Friday, I saw a different side of a Facebook, a more beneficial side. I never realized how valuable a tool it is for me as a reporter and representative of my community and how I can use it to find story ideas and sources. It offers more than just the silly, teenage style of social networking often associated with it and other sites like MySpace. I look forward to tapping into it.

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.