Last Call!

Well, it's over. We Capstone kids gave our big presentations last Monday. This semester flew by! Our graduation is in 12 short days.

Everyone really did such a fantastic job. I'm so proud of our capstone class - I really think that we're in a league of our own. The past four years have been crazy, but fun...especially with the six people I shared the spotlight with last Monday.

The bulk of my presentation concerned the three e-portfolios I put together. I did one for radio news, one for media relations, and one for print journalism. For my presentation, I combined the three and added a bit of the television work I did back in the day. I thought it went pretty well. I was able to show my creativity as well as many of the projects I've done.

As far as what I could have done differently, I wish I would have been a little more loose. A lot of the presentations were so funny and laid-back, and I felt really uptight and serious. I think it was because I was so nervous. I don't usually get that way when I'm speaking in public. I'm blaming my family!

I also felt that I flew through the different elements of my presentation because of time constraints. I wish I would have shortened my intro and conclusion and showed a little more of my experience.

Overall, I was happy with how everything went. Although I'm excited about moving on to the next chapter of my life (even though I have no clue what it will be like!), I'm really going to miss the good times I had with the broadcasting department at WC. I want to wish all of my fellow capstoners the best of luck!

You're Invited!

My capstone presentation is in 17 days. Yikes! Believe it or not, I'm still working on my senior project. When I get that finished, my capstone presentation shouldn't be too difficult to figure out.

One thing I need to get rolling on is sending out invitations. Of course, I'll invite everyone in the BC department. As far as the rest of campus goes, there are quite a few people I'd like to personally invite.

1. Mrs. Dee Natale

I've had Mrs. Natale for three classes: Journalism I, Journalists in Film and Literature, and Public Relations 101. She has been a professional in the PR field for years, and since I would love to pursue a career in PR, I think she would be an excellent audience member for my presentation. She is one of my favorite professors, as well.

2. The Career Center

Lately, I've been visiting the Career Center quite often, and the ladies there have been such a big help to me. I love being able to go in there and know that people are there to guide me with whatever I may need. I'd love for them to come to my presentation and give me feedback on my e-portfolio.

3. Jim Raykie

I had Mr. Raykie for my Journalism II class. His main job is actually being editor-in-chief of the Sharon Herald, and a part of my presentation will be focused on newspaper and what I have done with the Holcad. I think he would be an appropriate guest for my presentation. I learned a lot about small newspapers and community journalism in his class.

There are a ton of people I'd like to invite to my presentation, but right now those are my top three on campus outside the broadcasting department. I'm looking forward to giving my presentation - my family and some close friends will be there, and I'm excited for them to see everything that I have done over the past four years.

Job Postings Galore!

I've been super busy over the past couple of months searching all over the Internet for job postings. It scares me that my college graduation is in a little more than a month, and I haven't even had any job leads yet!

I'm very fortunate to know someone who has a ton of connections with companies in the Pittsburgh area, so hopefully something works out. After all, it's basically WHO you know.

As far as Internet job posting sites go, I have found a few decent ones. I have posted my resume on all three of them, and I have actually found several interesting openings.

CareerBuilder was the first site that I tried. So far, it has been pretty helpful. However, there are a few postings that caught my eye, but after further research, didn't look very legitimate. So I know that I have to be careful when responding to the job openings.

I also put my resume on Monster, which is pretty similar to CareerBuilder. I figure the more sites I try, the better chance of finding an opening that suits me.

WorkPittsburgh was the third site that I have posted my resume on. I like this one because it focuses on just the Pittsburgh area, which is primarily where I want to work.

Searching for a job is definitely a tedious and long process, but I am hoping that it will come in handy sometime soon. Until then, I just have to keep looking!

Hanging with the Big Shots!

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to head down to Pittsburgh and visit WTAE with my capstone class and some producing students. Sarah Bowers, who was a senior at Westminster when I was a freshman, works at the station (which is AWESOME), and she coordinated the tour for us. While I'm not sure if producing or directing are in my future, there are departments of news stations that I can definitely see myself working with.


We visited with Bob Longo, who is the News Director at WTAE. He is so knowledgeable about broadcasting, and it was interesting to hear his take on different topics dealing with the media.

Mike, Aidan, and I also visited with the Promotions department. They are super busy back there, but I'd love to become involved in something like that. My writing skills would definitely come in handy there. They do a lot of producing and editing, but they also write press releases and do all sorts of stuff that is right up my alley.

We met lots of cool people, too. Guy Junker, Wendy Bell, Michelle Wright...it was really awesome. It made me realize that I really do love being in a broadcasting environment. That's why my internship was so perfect...I was doing what I love, which is writing and PR, and I was surrounded by broadcasters. If I can find a job like that, I will be the happiest person on Earth.

My Mile Long To-Do List!

Well, graduation is quickly approaching. While I am very excited about moving on to the "real world," I am also terrified. I have so many things to do before I graduate. So, I present my official "to-do list" for the next two months.

1. SEND OUT RESUMES

I've actually sent out a couple of resumes already, but haven't heard anything back. I'm not really surprised about that, but it would be nice to actually score an interview one of these days. I really need to send out some more resumes, and be more aggressive in looking for job openings.

2. WORK ON SENIOR PROJECT

I've started my e-portfolio for radio news, but I really need to add some more airchecks to it, and maybe a news minute or two. I am creating two more; one for media relations with my press releases and ads from my internship, and one for the Holcad with my stories and examples of my layout. So I need to get cooking on those as well.

3. PREPARE CAPSTONE PRESENTATION

The presentation is in its very early stages right now, so I still have a long way to go. I have a little more than a month to complete it, but I need to work on it NOW. Procrastination is not going to work here.

4. SEND OUT E-MAILS

I've been in touch with my internship employers since I left in December, but I think it's about time I send them another e-mail or two updating them about my job search and what my plans are. I also want some advice from them on what I should be doing in my job search. As much as hearing it from my professors and the Career Center helps, I think it helps even more when you ask people who were in my exact position not long ago.

So, there you have it. That's a LOT of stuff. Add to that attempting to get a 4.0 this semester, completing numerous projects for other classes, working on several more Holcads, and still working at WKST, I have a lot on my plate. And I'm not going to lie, I'm going to breathe a sigh of relief when it's all over.

My REAL age.

By all indications, I'm 21 years and seven months old. At least that's what it says on my birth certificate.

However, after taking the RealAge test, I received quite the surprise. I thought that since my stress level is relatively high and I already put over 14,000 miles on my car in eight months, they'd say my "real" age was somewhere in the 30s or 40s. Not the case.


16.2? I was shocked, to say the least. I drive more than 150 miles per week, and last semester with my internship it was pushing 500. I have an insane schedule with work, my college activities, and my classes. But there are actually quite a few factors making my "real" age younger.

I try to eat right and exercise as much as I possibly can, so that was probably a big factor. I just thought it was very interesting that my "real" age was lower than my actual age!

What makes it even more ironic is the fact that up until about a week ago, I actually did look like I was 16 (and, yes, I actually heard this from several people). Thankfully, the braces are now off and I look more like a college student than a high school student.

Anyway, this test explains why I'm not ready to graduate from college. I'm only 16 years old, after all!

Little me!

Believe it or not, I was a young one not too long ago. Flashback to approximately 20 years ago, when I was almost two...

Sometimes I wish I were still that little.

I was actually about three when my mom took me to my cousin's dance recital. I watched all of the dancers in awe, and by the end of the show I was dancing in the aisles. My mom knew then to enroll me in dance lessons. My goal in life was to become a professional dancer and dance in New York City.

When I was six years old, I decided to abandon my dream of becoming a professional ballerina (I did continue dancing through age 18, though) and be a meterologist. I would literally sit in front of my TV and watch the Weather Channel for hours straight. I was fascinated with precipitation and humidity and wind chill and everything that had to do with weather. I would tell my parents at the dinner table that there was a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms that day, that the temperature in Phoenix was 109 degrees, and that the pollen levels were higher than normal in the Northeast. I loved talking in front of people, too, so it was a perfect job for me.

We had to do speeches in the third grade about what we wanted to be when we grew up. My classmates did speeches about becoming actresses, doctors, and professional athletes. I stood up in front of the class and said "I want to be a meteorologist."

The blank looks of my classmates said it all. What the heck is a meteorologist?

I then explained everything about weather and the Weather Channel and everything that a "weather girl" did. That was my goal for several more years. Then, I discovered the world of broadcast journalism. By the time I entered junior high, Diane Sawyer's job was looking pretty good to me.

I job shadowed at WKST (yes, the place where I am currently employed) in 8th grade and I announced a couple of community announcements over the air. I then realized that broadcasting was what I wanted to do.

And now, here I am...still unsure where exactly I want to be. Crazy, huh?

It's hard to believe how much easier life was back in the good old days.

Fast forward!

"Imagine waking up tomorrow morning in your 70s. What is the one thing you refuse to let yourself miss out on in life and just have to do before you’re gone?"

This week's blog prompt is courtesy of Miss Amy Lavallee.

I actually had to sit down and think about this one. What is one thing that I have to do before I die? I'm actually hoping that it will happen before I turn 70, but you never know. It's very difficult for me to choose one thing, though. I want to do so much!

One thing I've always wanted to do is go on a cross-country road trip. I'm one of those people who loves driving rather than flying because I love looking at my surroundings and seeing how other parts of the country are different from Western PA. Along with that, I have a goal of visiting every baseball stadium in the country. I think it would be the greatest thing ever to hop in a van with my closest friends one summer and take a tour of all the ballparks. That would be so incredibly awesome.

I don't want to limit myself to staying in the US, though. I would love to travel to Europe sometime in my life. I'd love to see Scotland, Romania, Hungary, and the Czech Republic - the countries my great-grandparents are from. I am dying to see London, Paris, Milan...just thinking about it makes me excited. Oh, and I really want to stay in the ice hotel in Sweden.


This might sound silly, but I also want to go swimming with dolphins. I was watching the Travel Channel the other day, and they showed a commercial for Discovery Cove in Orlando. I have to go there someday.


I know a lot of this might seem far-fetched, but I really hope to achieve at least some of these goals before it's too late. Ambition is never a bad thing!