This week really showed me just how much I can push myself, and how many ideas I can articulate and complete within a short amount of time. There’s a countless number of things I learned through this process. But above all I learned to trust myself – with a lot of help, of course. With a focus on time management and balancing multiple aspects of a project, I learned a lot, not only journalism wise, but about myself too.
Hands down my favorite part was working with Richard Yeh. The knowledge, skill and patience he brought to this project taught me so much. With us being the only remote team, the added challenge of communication was never an issue. He balanced being incredibly hands-on while letting me take the reins.
Additionally, I learned a lot about how to conduct a successful interview – how to expand and to dig deeper. The non-narrative aspect of this project was challenging, but learning how to conduct a good interview, formulate a story and edit audio in post really pushed me.
One thing I wish I did a little differently was to spend my time a little better. When it came to the last full day, everything felt overwhelming. I know that working amid chaos is a very important skill to have in the field of journalism. However I found myself spending too much time on one sentence, or a couple of seconds in the audio piece.
This week is an experience I’ll never forget – even if I tried.
I’m so grateful to have been chosen for this intensive training. I was forced to push myself and I am leaving a stronger journalist because of it. I want to thank Doug Mitchell for creating this program, my mentor Richard Yeh, digital editor Hayley Sanchez for helping me through so much of this process, Kevin Beaty for teaching me a lot about photography, Emily Whang for my wonderful illustrations and everyone else who helped along the way.
From working with professionals to getting to spend time with other rising journalists, my week of chaos has confirmed my passion for journalism, and has given momentum towards my dream career.
