I did not want to leave this morning. After the gala last night, I realized that the people surrounding me were really my second family.
My roommate and I said our final goodbyes, and headed separate ways. Jalyn, thank you for always being so caring and nice. You are one of the sweetest humans ever, and I’m so glad we were able to create a bond.
Goodbye for now, 508B.
The Blue Crew and I hung out in our usual spot until the shuttles arrived to take us to our airports. Every person in the group cried at least once. Then there were the people, such as myself, that cried multiple times for extended periods of time. This week, the Blue Crew became a family just to be separated, but I made some lifelong friends, so all is well. The worst feeling ever is leaving the people you love behind.
Blue Crew, thank you for such an amazing week. You are all some of the nicest, most genuine people I have ever met and all 20 of you will always hold a place in my heart. I love you all so much, and I look forward to sharing another family meal sometime.
I’m not going to lie, I woke up ready to go home. I was tired of constantly wearing business clothes in 100 degree heat with 100 percent humidity, and I was literally tired because four hours of sleep per night is not for me.
My friend, Michelle, and I used the buddy system and did everything together. We spent most of our day at Capitol Hill. Here, we met Tennessee Representative Scott DesJarlais, saw the Botanic Garden, toured the Capitol building, and went to the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Michelle is a real trooper for meeting with my representative with me instead of doing more interesting things. Unfortunately, DesJarlais had to leave to go debate on a bill, but thankfully his Chief of Staff, Richard Vaughn, was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. I asked basic political questions about my representative’s stance on the bill that he’s debating. More importantly, I asked questions that I feel passionate about: what is the status of common core, and what’s the deal with Trump’s new student loans or plan? Representative Scott DesJarlaisMichelle jumped in for a quick pictureChief of Staff, Richard Vaughn
After I interviewed Vaughn, one of the interns in his office took Michelle and I for a tour of the Capitol building. The very center of the CapitolThe dome
After this tour, Michelle and I devoured some chili dogs then headed to see the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Boy, was it a sight to see.
Also, the Botanic Garden was cute.
After a long day in the nation’s capital, we headed to a gala. The gala reminded me of prom, minus the extremely fancy dresses, and I had a blast. It was so much fun and it made the Blue Crew bond even more! BeforeAfterSo much love for Grace, aka the cutest human ever
I was super tired and excited to leave, but the goodbyes today were emotional. I never wanted to leave, after all.
The Blue Crew was allowed to sleep in an extra 20 minutes this morning. THANK GOODNESS.
Today was my day to be the Twitter moderator for our group page. This experience was extremely exciting because I got to represent an entire group on social media!
The Blue Crew began the day by discussing different news outlets and biases. We learned the political stances behind the popular sources.
The most exciting part of the day, in my opinion, was writing a fictional article for Buzzfeed. Every color crew got split into groups and each person was assigned a role for a major news media outlet. For example, my friend Grace and I were reporters for Buzzfeed, while everyone else reported for CNN, Fox News, The Washington Post, The New York Times, One America News Network, etc.
My group was assigned four different breaking news stories, and we had to choose what stories to cover and how we presented it. In order to write the article, we first had to understand the writing style and political stance that Buzzfeed holds. As I am slightly on the conservative side, writing the article for a left-leaning media outlet was very challenging and extremely fun! For one piece, we wrote an actual article. For another, we made a fun quiz, since Buzzfeed is known for popular quizzes.
Here’s what we came up with:
After presenting our article and quiz, we headed to lunch and later went to listen to a WJMC staff panel answer questions.
After the panel discussion, we heard from Nicole Livas. Livas is the co-anchor of WAVY News 10 and alumni of George Mason University. She taught us that sending thank you cards is always a good thing to do, and, in order to be a journalist, an individual has to build upon experiences and strengths.
Livas also gave specific advice to reporters and editors. For the reporters, Livas advised to “learn how to hold yourself and speak on camera.” She taught us to be resilient instead of shy. For the editors, Livas said, “Accuracy is everything!” She ended by explaining the three rules of journalism: accuracy, accuracy, accuracy.
Livas gave many tips; however, a tip that resonated with me was this one: “You don’t need to know every detail about Rob and Chyna. You need to know what’s happening in China.”
Fun fact: Livas posted the picture that I took of her on her Twitter, and I got into her group selfie!
To end my day, I got to listen to Tom Jackman, a reporter for The Washington Post.
Jackman was easygoing and super interactive with the crowd. He was a super positive person, and told many of his stories. Jackman said, “As a reporter in America, you have more freedom than anywhere else.” However, there is another side to that. He also stated that reporters sometimes have to “play the Devil’s advocate without being too opinionated” in order to get the best stories out of people. Jackman ended his speech with positive advice: “Be versatile; try lots of different stuff.”
Tomorrow I go to the Capitol building and Smithsonian museum, and I’m so excited to be a tourist again!
As usual, my day began by waking up at the crack of dawn and meeting the BLUE CREW for breakfast at 7:00.
Though we did not get to tour today, the WJMC group got to hear from some amazing speakers this morning after breakfast. We had our student workbooks and pens, ready to write down any advice and information that came our way.
Though I did not get pictures of the guest speakers this morning, I did take a picture of my workbook for some reason. So, you guys enjoy that. The WJMC student correspondents were pleased to welcome Michelle and Rene Marsh to speak first.
Michelle Marsh is an anchor for ABC Channel 7 while her sister, Rene Marsh, is the aviation and government regulation correspondent for CNN. The pair gave great advice to the audience! We were taught to always be persistent when seeking internships, and that individuals in the journalism field are “constantly learning and reinventing,” according to Rene. Michelle spoke up and also stated that, “People looking to hire interns most commonly hire the ones who are curious by nature.”
One piece of advice that was really distinct to me was from Rene: “You won’t succeed if you don’t take care of yourself.” Rene was the first guest speaker to encourage self-care and taking time to recover from stress.
After hearing the Marsh sisters speak, we, the WJMC student correspondents, heard from David Culver, a reporter for NBC Washington. Mr. Culver’s speech was very interesting because it differed from the other speeches that we have heard.
Culver, who is Cuban-American, took his grandmother on a trip to Cuba for the first time since she fled to come to America. He videoed this trip and his grandmother’s reactions in an NBC documentary called “Rediscovering Cuba.”
A few years after the trip with his grandmother, Culver returned to Cuba to report on the death of Fidel Castro. Culver explained that some people were grieving while other people were lacking emotions since Cuba is such a divided place. Mr. Culver provided videos for the audience to watch so we could see what he does, rather than just hear about it.
After hearing from David Culver, the group traveled to Buca di Peppo, a popular Italian restaurant nearby. Here, I sat in the Pope room. Basically, it was a large dining table sectioned off with pictures of the Pope hanging on all of the walls that surrounded my friends and I. Even better, there was a Pope head in the middle of the table.
After lunch, we headed to The National Press Club. Here, we heard from the 110th Club President, Jeff Ballou, followed by Brian Lamb, the founder and retired CEO of C-SPAN.
Lamb took a very different approach to discussing journalism. Instead of lecturing us, Lamb asked about our family history and discussed any stories that he had related to the topics. Lamb encouraged us to interview loved ones and made clear that hearing stories is what journalism is about.
Next, we heard from April Ryan, a White House Correspondent and Washington D.C. chief for American Urban Radio Networks.
Ryan was one of my favorite speakers because she has a sense of humor and sarcasm, and delivers real advice. She stated that “journalists are under attack” and that journalism is not the best career option for people that can be easily offended. Ryan seemed very passionate about what she does because she stated, “It isn’t about the job; it’s about informing the masses.”
Also, she autographed my copy of her book. How exciting.
Finally, to end our extremely long day, Kevin McCarthy, a movie critique, spoke to us.
Hands down, the best speaker today.
McCarthy began his speech by saying, “Do what you love and money will follow.” He explained that there is an annoyance side and a persistence side when it comes to pursuing what you want, and that it is okay to be on the annoyance side sometimes.
He showed up in jeans and button-up shirt, which automatically drew the crowd’s attention. When we walked into the room, there was a relaxed vibe that was not present when listening to the other speakers. At one point, McCarthy went on to fanboy over Harry Styles because both Styles and McCarthy were on set for a shooting for the movie Dunkirk, and Styles recognized McCarthy from a previous encounter.
Mr. McCarthy was the one we all related to, which allowed the audience to become more involved. Not only was he relaxed and funny, he continuously reminded us that ethics are important in journalism and one must “keep an honesty with your audience.”
Oh, and the highlight of my day was watching myself speak on my friends’ Snapchat stories. They do not commonly hear Southern accents considering they are from everywhere except the South. I knew that they were videoing me, but I was not aware that it was going on Snapchat for everyone to see. When I saw their stories, I was super giggly because they are so mind-blown from hearing a Tennessee accent.
There will not be as many guest speakers tomorrow, but I am still excited to see what the new day holds!
Have you ever been so tired that you actually can’t sleep? You drag all day, and, right when it’s time for bed, you suddenly get a second wind.
That is me currently; I am literally exhausted.
My exhaustion stems from four hours of sleep, and being a typical tourist today in D.C. Though I may be extremely tired, today was a blast and I would do everything all over again!
I began my day by chowing down hardcore at the George Mason dining hall with my color group.
My group then made our way down to the Newseum.
There are many features in the Newseum with one of them being interesting political cartoons.
The Pulitzer Prize photo gallery was a sight to see.
This particular photo tugged at my heart strings and triggered the waterworks. My brother is in the military, so I can only imagine what grief the loved ones felt when they were told the bad news. It was like I was in someone else’s shoes when I read about the photo; I felt very strong emotions.
Then we moved to the 9/11 exhibit.
My group and I later got to see the D.C. skyline and proceeded to visit tourist attractions such as the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, The White House, and the World War II Memorial.
Today has been a great day, and I am super excited for our guest speakers tomorrow!
If you weren’t already aware, I was given the incredible opportunity to attend the Washington Journalism and Media Conference hosted at George Mason University. As I have been awaiting this day for several months, saying goodbye to my small town in Tennessee for a week was slightly heartbreaking. Thankfully, I have my courageous mother who taught me to be independent and is supportive of me exploring new places!
At 7:30 a.m., I departed from my house and made my way to the Nashville International Airport. As soon as my mother and I made it through the security checkpoint, I was on the hunt for some food, #starving. Mom and I ate our waffle in peace, and took a selfie before I boarded my flight to D.C.
It was time to say bye, for now.
I arrived in D.C. and met some nice people from Tennessee who were attending the conference as well. I finally arrived on the George Mason University campus around 3:00 p.m., and boy was I ready for a nap.
But alas, there is no time for naps. This schedule is extremely hectic.
I met with my color group, and we got to know each other very well after we went over our schedule. BLUE WHO? BLUE CREW.
My color group was off to see our first guest speaker, Sonya Gavankar. Mrs. Gavankar is the Public Relations Manager of the Newseum, and has hosted programs on ABC, CBS, PBS, and QVC.
Fun Fact: Mrs. Gavankar also hosted the Puppy Bowl! How cute.
Gavankar had a way with words, as she was overtly confident, but also added plenty of humor into her serious speech. She taught us that passion + experience = platform, and that we must “explode with glitter” when talking about ourselves. Along with those things, she also explained how to ESCAPE when writing an article.
I have already met many amazing correspondents, and my roommates are all lovely!
Today was a great day, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!
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