I’m a bit ashamed that I didn’t start this earlier. As many of you know, I’ve been interning at NBC29 here in Charlottesville for the past month or so. And I’ve decided to do weekly blog entries on my experiences there. I bring you: Adventures of an NBC Intern.

Since I -have- been there for a month, I’ll use this first post to catch you all up with what I’ve been through so far. Then I’ll (hopefully) be doing a weekly entry on what I’ve learned, interesting things that have happened, people I’ve met, etc. Though I will be very careful not to reveal too much - turns out there are times to keep your mouth shut. And of course, anything I learn secondhand-off-the-record will remain off-the-record.

Part 1: The First Month

I’d always wanted to work at a TV station. Back in 2nd and 3rd grade, I remember doing mock newscasts for my family on New Years, and later on, the frequent mention of interns on TechTV always made me a bit more jealous of their menial responsibilities than most. So when I learned I could actually do an internship in high school, I jumped on it. And the process turned out to be much easier than I thought - the cover letter was a bit of a pain, but after that it was just a phone call, and I had the internship. No interview, no discussion of what I’d want to get out of the experience, no drug test (the big shocker)… I pretty much just showed up for my first day on the job.

When I first got there, I was really torn between reporting and photography for what I wanted to concentrate on. I started out learning bits of both, watching the photogs closely on location, and reading script after script back in the newsroom. But early on, I realized that my true passion was with the photography/editing side of the equation, so for the past few weeks, I’ve gotten to start concentrating just on that.

Over the next few weeks, my days would be divided up roughly into three sections. In the afternoons, I would shadow a reporter and photographer, observing what exactly it meant to hold one of those two jobs. This half has generally been my favorite part of the internship, as I’ve gotten to tag along on stories they reserve for their “top team members,” and I’ve met lots of people I’d never get to talk with in “real life” (who’d of thought Jim Camblos would come to know who I am?). The evenings usually involved me going along with just a photographer to the more remote stories (police dinners, board meetings, etc.) - I was able to get my hands on the camera more during these trips. And then, late night, when no one was actually out shooting a story, I’d sit in the editing room, watching the photogs or editors put together the final packages and VOs for the 10 and 11 0′clock shows. One day, I even edited part of a VO - that rather made my day.

The really incredible part of my experience so far is how much everyone in the newsroom has made me feel like I belong. Going out on shoots, hearing off-the-record details about investigations, running at top speed with a tripod towards Lee Park… It’s made me feel so much a part of the team, and that’s what has made me really enjoy my time there so far.

So basically, I’m having a blast at 29. I’ll keep you all updated on how it’s going!

I came to school today, expecting to meet with administrators about their school club policy - an issue that’s threatening to shut down CHS’s male a cappella group, the Testostetones (of which I am a member). Ready to “fight for our rights,” I walked down B-hallway to the Media Center, where I expected the first meeting of the “Youth Advisory Committee.” This committee had been talked about in the beginning of the year as a way for students to advise the administration on school matters (club policies, for example).

What I found was quite different.

As it turns out, the meeting was not about the Youth Advisory Committee at all. Instead, it was about a new pilot program at CHS that’s being run by the Stillwater Institute for Social Justice, founded by several women who used to work for MACAA: Pynke Gohaner-Lyles, Shawn Harris, and Debra Abbott. Similar to how MACAA’s goal is eliminate poverty, the end Stillwater is working towards is the elimination of social injustice - and this program is a way to work to that end from the inside out. The program, called “Youth Roundtables,” plans to take 37 students (myself included), selected by teachers and guidance counselors for their “good verbal skills and leadership potential,” and train them to be facilitators for dialogue and discussion among our peers. After a training program that will last until after winter break, Gohaner-Lyles, Harris, and Abbott plan to set-the-students-loose, if you will, having us “facilitate discussions with small groups of our peers.”

The presentation these three women gave us lasted for about an hour, and focused on how language and communication are the cure for social injustices such as racism, sexism, homophobia, ect. Now, I was actually extremely impressed and somewhat motivated by the speeches they gave to us - and I’m not easily impressed (I have a very strong BS meter). We then proceeded to gather in small groups and talk about why we think Charlottesville High School needs change. What did we hear everyday that was disrespectful? Hateful? Utterly racist? Being me, I had to throw in a bit about all the gay slurs I hear in the halls. And somehow, people were actually respectful to each other during these discussions! Really not sure how that happened with a group of CHS students…

It was really humbling, to tell you the truth. There I was, getting all worked up about the school club policy, and I’m thrown into something that completely dwarfs that by comparison. Ladies, the three of you rock. And I sincerely hope I can jumble up my schedule to participate in this cause - it’s a wonderful thing you’re doing. (like how I managed to change my writings’ audience like, three times? yeah…)

Here’s some general information on the Stillwater Institute for Social Justice (life directly from Hollins Universtiy’s website, in turn lifted directly from an email):

“The Stillwater Institute for Social Justice is the result of four women’s dream of equality, justice, and freedom for people who experience oppression as a result of their race, class, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability or religion. Four women-Pynke Gohaner-Lyles, Shawn Harris, Greer Dawson-Wilson and I want to make a difference in the world. We envision a world where people could be who they really are and become whoever they want to be. That somehow, the chains of oppression can be broken and that alliances across our differences can be formed. For us, this is a peace-building process. That we are all -that much stronger united across our differences. That oppression so often divides us rather than unites us. Our goals then and now remain the same. Unfortunately , there is not the interest, financial resources or commitment to actually do the work that is r equired. to transform both individuals and systems. Our work is focused on dismantling systems of oppression and creating alternatives that will hopefully treat people with dignity and respect. This work is not easy, not simple and takes time. It remains our hope, that we as a people will come to the realization that we must examine our past in order to move forward. It is our hope that we will have the courage to tell the truth about the past and the stamina to be bold in our quest for peace and for justice in our future and our children’s future. One of our partners, left our side and we owe it to her to continue this work.”

Debra Abbott

http://www1.hollins.edu/classes/anth220s06/walkers/activism.htm

Just a small rant: As I’ve been listening to the radio lately, I’ve heard a few commercials that involve background noise of horn honking. There will be people in a drive thru, or a busy intersection, or just some random ambient noise, that includes an angry driver honking. Is it me, or is this an incredibly bad idea? If I’m driving down the road, listening to the radio, and all of a sudden I hear a few cars honking, what am I supposed to think? I freaked out the first time I heard one of those commercials - “Did I cut someone off? Should I be worried? Is there an accident?”

This is Charlottesville, not New York - honking doesn’t happen all that often (comparatively), and it should mean something when it does. Something more than, “Oh, I should stop by Burger King on the way home…”, that is.

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Now to the actual post: I’ve been hit with some dilemmas lately. When I was at Governor’s School almost three months ago (has it really been that long?), I met a guy. Let’s call him, “Felix” (actually, that’s his real name; well, the name he goes by, anyway… let’s move on). Now, because Governor’s School lasted for just a month, and everyone lived hours and hours away from each other, it’s likely you’d never see the friends you met there again. And in many cases, that went the same for any relationship you became involved in. It brought up some interesting thoughts for me: mainly, the incredible suspension of disbelief high school students have to undertake in order to stay sane in a relationship. They all know that, come the end of high school (or Governor’s School, as it may be), they’ll be going off to different places and it can become almost impossible to keep seeing each other. And it seems weird to me that kids are able to carry on relationships, knowing that there can’t be any long-lasting future in them.

So I was really nervous about becoming emotionally involved with someone at Governor’s School. I went along with it for a little while, until it got to the point where I was thinking more about life after Governor’s School than anything else, distracted from being able to enjoy the time I had left. At that point, I sat down with Felix and tried to figure out what would happen after that short month was over. After a few moments of silence, he said to me, “If it’s meant to be, we’ll find a way to make it work.” And it’s true: it’s not that it’s impossible to continue a relationship from afar - just much more difficult.

It worried me a lot when I first got back from Governor’s School, wondering whether it really was, “meant to be” (I’m just using that as a quote here - that wasn’t meant as a sappy comment). A few weeks went by - and then he came to visit me. Then he visited me again. A few more weeks. I drove down to visit him. Another few weeks. I drove down again. True, it’s hard not being able to see the person you’re dating for weeks at a time, but somehow we made it work. And it is working - very well, in fact. In a lot of ways, I appreciate the time we have together much more now.

So maybe I was a bit harsh in deeming that all high school relationships required a suspension of disbelief. Because, if there’s anything I’ve learned in the past three months, it’s that that suspension of disbelief doesn’t have to be there - the problem doesn’t have to exist at all. Perhaps I’m a bit weird (or rather, weirder than we all thought), but I can’t comfortably keep a relationship going, knowing there’s a definite end point in sight (graduation being the most common case). And yet, now I know that there doesn’t have to be an end point after all - not even in high school. Even in college, when the distance might be much greater, I know that, “If it’s meant to be, we’ll find a way to work it out.”

And it’s nice knowing that we’ve already crossed the first hurdle.

Oh, and because I’m a egomaniac and love seeing putting my picture on my website…