Posts Tagged ‘DC Living’

Home Away From Home Here in DC

June 30th, 2010 by Sarah Z. | no comments yet | posted in: Summer 2010

I flew home for the first time in a month last weekend to see my family, friends, and boyfriend. I had only been gone four weeks, but for someone who has never lived more than 30 minutes away from their family, that’s a pretty long time!

I entered this Semester in Washington Journalism Program fairly apprehensive about the whole “being away from home aspect.” I mean, I haven’t actually lived with my parents in a few years, so that part was less than novel. However, despite being very well-traveled, living outside of the Metro-Atlanta area for the first time in my life was daunting.

After spending a few weeks in Washington, DC though, I began to realize that despite being a big city, it’s really not that big after all. Random interactions with strangers and striking up a conversation with someone because they have on a Georgia Bulldogs t-shirt made home seem not-so-far away. While riding the Metro to work the other day, a woman sitting next to me told me about how she was from Georgia and I found out she went to high school with a friend of mine. My adjunct professor and a strong link in the chain of command at Voice of America, Steve Springer, told me about his days at CNN in Atlanta (which is right next to my school, Georgia State) and how he used to live a few miles from my parents’ neighborhood.

After all of my interactions with people who are from Georgia, have lived there, or had family there, it made it seem as if home weren’t really that far away. By the time I stepped off the plane in Atlanta last weekend, it felt like I had never even left. Those close to me have come to visit and I got to show them around my new home in D.C. I get phonecalls and text messages all of the time from those I love. But at the end of the day, nothing quite makes me feel at home as much as talking to a kid wearing an Atlanta Braves hat and telling him “I really feel like we’ll clinch the division this year.” Even if I can’t watch all of the Braves games on television, I am just as much home here as ever here in DC for the summer.

First Week Of Spring 2010: Student Bootcamp

January 22nd, 2010 by Andrea Genevieve | no comments yet | posted in: Spring 2010

Bob Levey and Students at a Writing Seminar

You may or may not know, but the first week of the Semester in Washington Journalism Program is always a whirlwind! Students arrive in DC, aclimate themselves to the city and try to get used to things they may not have a their home school (like a metro subway station or CVS Pharmacy’s on every corner!)

This spring, students were especially busy as they participated in a week-long bootcamp to prepare them for a semester of challenging internships in the media industry. Each day they worked on a different area of media communication, from writing exercises, to learning video software, an introduction to Twitter and how to use a Flip camera.

On Friday our guest lecturer, former Washington Post metro columnist Bob Levey, took students through an intense reporting seminar where they discussed the challenge of using images from the internet. What do you think? Should reporters be able to take photos from Twitter or Facebook accounts? What are the ethical ramifications behind doing that?

He finished up the day by taking students on a walking tour through DC to see exactly where news happens in this busy town.

Looking for some more photos from bootcamp? Take a look at the SIWJ Spring 2010 Flickr photos.

So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish

December 7th, 2009 by Matt L. | 1 Comment » | posted in: Fall 2009

SIWJ Fall 2009

Looking back at the past few month, it’s hard to believe that the SIWJ program is over for me. Here, we learned what skills we had, what skills we could acquire, where we wanted to go, and ultimately who we are. From all the various media projects and boot camp sessions to the visits to major news operations got us ready for the world of journalism.

First SIWJ Project

Personally, this program was something that I had never experienced before. I know phrases like that are thrown around like a football, but SIWJ truly is a unique experience. Before I had gotten involved with this program, I had no real direction–no idea what I wanted to do or where I wanted to go. This was the case before I opened my mailbox and saw a flyer that said I could come to D.C. to experience something I had never experienced before. Being a political junkie and a creative writing major, journalism in the political nexus of the nation seemed like a fun thing to try out– I had no idea what I was in for.

Personal Haiku

Through my internship at Campaign and Elections magazine, I learned how to write better, do research, copy edit, collect information from interviews, and take better photos. Through SIWJ classes, I learned how to shoot and edit video, edit photos better, analyze media, participate in new media, do interviews, blog, and network with others in the industry. From all the experiences I have gone through this semster I have acquired the skills that are needed to become a great journalist. Not only have I developed as a professional, but as a person as well. People will tell you they’ve all had life changing moments, but even though it sounds cliche’, this program will change anyone’s life. Being part of a group of dedicated individuals who grew alongside me has put many things in perspective. Although I leave DC today, I will be back in the future, hopefully working alongside the same five interns I worked with during one of the longest semesters in my life.

SIWJ Fall 2009 Scrapbook

Cheers!

~Matt

Navigating the Metro for a Novice

December 4th, 2009 by Nina M. | 1 Comment » | posted in: Fall 2009

You know one when you see one, a metro system virgin.

They are the people who stand at the metro pass stations with that blank look on their face, like they are trying to read a foreign language. They are the people who clutch their purses as if every other passenger were a highly trained pickpocket. They stare at the metro map as if they are looking at ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. With every jerk and jolt you can see the glimmer of fear and uncertainty flash in their eyes. They miss their stops because they can’t understand the muted, mumbled gibberish that is coming from the conductor. Worst of all they commit the unpardonable sin of standing in the middle of the escalator, ergo stalling all of the grey suits who can not bear to lose those precious few seconds.

Even the metro attendants can spot them. Deborah Davis who has been working at the metro only a few months said, “They are the ones who don’t know which way to go even though it’s written right there on the signs. “ Her coworker chimed in, “ They da’ ones who mix up the red light and da’ green light when they trying to get in or out of da metro, red means ya can’t go!”

Alas, take heart you newbie’s there is hope. You too can conceal your un-familiarity; mask your fears and anxiety by absorbing a few simple tips for flawless metro travel.

Start with the metro pass station. Quit trying to get more bang for your buck, and attempting to calculate to the nickel how much money you need to put on your pass. I know these are tough economic times, but trying to coordinate your stops and the different rates for peak hours is something even very few pros can do. Rule of thumb unless you are planning to ride the metro all day five dollars should suffice. So slap five dollars on there and gamble with your fate. If you are one of those who likes to air on the side of caution get yourself a day pass, but know that is a red flag sure sign of your inexperience.

Now you’ve got your pass, on to the map. There are five lines, all of which are named after colors. Don’t panic. I know there is some colorblind tourist out there thinking he’s doomed to a vacation filled with taxi fares. You can actually read all the names of the lines; you don’t have to simply rely on colors. Each line is labeled with the color. The direction the metro is going is indicated by the name of the stop that is the last stop on the line. Read the sign and get on the train that is labeled with the last stop on the line that will pass your destination. When it arrives board it. Double check the line color as it pulls in. Do this subtly or your inexperience will be blatant.

Common courtesy, let the people get off before you barge on. Trust me there will be enough time. Pick your seat or find a bar/rail to hold on to. Metros are crowded, it is NOT weird to sit by a random stranger, just accept that your personal bubble will be invaded and move on. Also, that random stranger crowding your space is NOT trying to pickpocket you. What do you think this is, New York?

If you are expecting a Walter Cronkite sounding voice to announce the specific stops over the loudspeaker thus daydreaming instead of counting stops, prepare to ride the metro all day. At best you will get a conductor who pronounces perhaps similar vowel sounds to those in your stop. Bottom line, pay attention and count your stops. This isn’t your safety patrol eighth grade school trip to the capitol. There is no parent/teacher chaperone; you are on your own.

When the metro stops, you get to get off first. Exit. Find the nearest “up” escalator. At which point if you plan on standing and riding the escalator up get on the right side of the escalator. It’s just like a highway people. Slow traffic is on the right and passing on the left. Not such an outrageous concept after all.

Lastly, the infamous exit gates. You know that little piece of paper you just spit your gum into? That was probably your metro pass, and yes, you need that. Peel that gum out and find the exit gate with a green arrow. Slide your pass through. Cross your fingers that you put enough money on there and then watch in amazement as the gates open. Pat yourself on the back. You survived the metro and better yet, if you followed this advice no one even had the inkling that you had no clue what you were doing. Congratulations.

When you are ready to look like a real expert and want to really blend in, you whip out your Ipod headphones. Whoa now. Don’t do anything crazy like actually listen to your music. That is going to cause you to lose your focus, thus breaking your concentration and making all your meticulous planning for naught. Merely wearing the headphones pretending to be listening to music will be enough to give off the tell tale signs of your expertise. Another idea is the fast pass. The fast pass is the metro equivalent of a black American express card. It shows you use the metro often and you’re big time in the metro world. You can purchase one of these cards at CVS and it’s like a debit card. Just put money on it and never again will you have to deal with the ever-confusing metro pass machines.

After reading this navigating the metro should be a piece of cake. As for you locals, you metro masters, bear with them. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and deep down in that blackened big city heart of yours you know that you were not born a metro master either.

Photos By: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_t_in_dc/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bootbearwdc/ / CC BY 2.0

DC, Mealplans & My Bad Romance

November 22nd, 2009 by Audrey R. | no comments yet | posted in: Fall 2009

My sister at school in Wellesley, MA where food is always around...

D.C., eating, and I do not get along. Since September I have struggled to find a pattern that works for me (one that I can afford and will not make me morbidly obese). All my other schools (and I have attended a lot), have provided meal plans so students are not constantly paying out of pocket to feed themselves. That is the world I belong in.

I miss the days when I could stroll into a cafeteria with a squillion dining options on display. For some reason, it was always easy to turn down cheeseburgers in favor of salads when I knew they were always going to be available to me. I got into the habit of filling a Nalgene bottle full of iced coffee every time the caf opened and taking around 73547292 apples to eat later. I never went hungry, managed to stay skinny, and I had more money for Free People. Life was good.

Life took a nasty turn for the worse when I arrived in DC with very little money saved and the responsibility of paying for my food. I got into a horrible system of waiting until so famished that I’d buy everything in sight, making me both uncomfortably full and way broker. Grocery shopping was a nightmare because it entailed buying items with the intention of cooking. Cooking may as well be Chemistry class for me (i.e. impossible), but even if I did know how, my roommate and my kitchen supplies consists of two plates and two bowls.

I still have not found a system that works for me. Mostly, I live in fear of the next time I’ll get hungry. My roommate and I live for the days when family or friends come to visit because we know it means getting to eat properly. Having to provide my own food was a good experience, I suppose, I just really have got to get better at it. Or win the lottery.

Last Fall Semester In School and Still Not Enough Time

October 13th, 2009 by Liz F. | no comments yet | posted in: Fall 2009

Have you ever wanted the time to fly by especially when you are hating school? There have been times where I have been in the Library for hours on end, just memorizing the same stupid brain terms for my psychology test, or reading 20 page long articles for my argumentation and debate class that I could care less about. But all of a sudden, the time really has flown by, and its middle of October of my last fall semester in college…..EVER. It is somewhat depressing to me, because next year it will be real world, real work, and no taking breaks or skipping class whenever I feel.

I have to say being in Cleveland my whole life, and attending school there is a blast and it will always be my home away from home, but experiencing life in Washington for the last few months and exploring the city has shown me a whole new way of life. I have met people from all over the country and been to places most people cannot just walk up to and take a tour of, (One of the perks of being a qualified student in the SIWJ program). But serioulsy, live it up as much as you can. If you can balance going out every night and partying your butt of, but still pulling the lovely 3.0 GPA, then more power to you. Explore the restaurants of DC, the fun and smelly bars, or just walk around at night and observe the night life. Before you know it, your life as a college student will be over, and your twenties will be gone, then you’ll be 30, and 40, and the dreaded 50. The most encouraging advice to all you college freshman is to study abroad! That doesn’t mean hop on the next place to Croatia, but go to another school in the U.S. like I did. It is worth more than anything you could even imagine.

So to you college students, live it up. Have fun! Enjoy Life! But remember….SCHOOL comes first!

Photo By: Melissa Quintanilha

From Southern Girl to Big City Reporter

July 14th, 2009 by admin | no comments yet | posted in: Summer 2009

Our Work Passes

On May 24, I took the biggest leap of my life in moving from Petal, Mississippi to Washington, D.C. Although I had vacated in the big city, I had no idea what lie ahead. The nearest “big city” to me back home is Hattiesburg, with a population of approximately 50,000 (less than one tenth of the population of D.C.)
After the settling in and finishing the rigorous week long boot camp, I was sent out to my internship at the Hispanic Link to make something of myself. My first day in the office, I was sent to the press club to a luncheon to hear former Vice President Dick Cheney give his speech to the press. I couldn’t believe it. My first official day as a reporter and I was standing just a few feet away from Dick Cheney.

Me and Natalie

As the week continued, I was given my own business cards, a congressional press pass and open access to just about any event I wanted to cover. It was incredible! Who would have thought that a small town southerner would be reporting in Washington D.C.?

Time passed and there were more events, more celebrities and more stories. But the big city glamor began to fade away. I missed my family and friends, my boyfriend, fishing at the lake, my swimming pool, the summer gardening and so much more.

My hopes of making it in the big city began to dissolve as I realized that my home in the south is where I belong. Never in a million years did I think that I would be saying this; but I am. I’m a southern girl who’s heart is in the south.

Why I’m Excited For DC Festivals

April 12th, 2009 by admin | no comments yet | posted in: Spring 2009

A Festival On the Mall

First, because the weather is undoubtedly warming and there is nothing dull about that! Last weekend I went to the Cherry Blossom Festival parade to get some interviews and enjoy the scenery. Later, Alex and I enjoyed a lovely spring night at the first Nationals game of the season. It brought us back to fun SUMMER memories of Twins games, and that’s a good thing.

I am so pleased about the weather!!

But more importantly, I am excited because of what I learned from class last Friday. In order to understand why I’m so excited, there are a few things I need to explain.
Throughout the semester, our program assistant, Andrea Michnik, has been teaching me and a few interested others about social media, specifically Twitter. Twitter is kind of hard to understand for “non-tweeters,” but I have found it to be a very fun and helpful social and professional resource. I won’t go into the ins and outs here, but if you’re curious about it, you can go to www.twitter.com/jclynes to see what some “tweets” look like (without having to sign in). I’ve gotten some really cool opportunities, advice, and connections through it though.
ANYWAY, Andrea has been an advocate and mentor on issues of “social media” and, as we learned on Friday, this is an aspect of journalism that is quickly developing and expanding. Andrea found 3 interesting speakers to come in and talk about how they use social media in their life.
The first was a TWENTY TWO year old, named Meg Roberts, who has this incredible job with New Media Strategies as a PR rep who works with her clients (such as Disney) to advertise/promote their products via social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, myspace, etc). While her job certainly sounded exciting, what was probably more interesting to me was that she graduated in May ‘08 and was so driven and impressive in her internships and interviews that she’s already been hired to this incredible job at such a young age! Her advice really spoke to me because she talked less on “traditional” journalism, which many of our other speakers tend to stick to, so it was more applicable to my focus since I’m likely not going to end up in mainstream journalism. Anyway, she talked about how to use twitter as a professional resource and she also said that she used her blog (while interviewing) as leverage. Once she picked her topic of interest (PR in her case), she would blog about it and promote her blog to her interviewers to show her interest in the subject, as well as her writing ability. This is seems like such a good idea!

Next, two other social media pros came in (for those of you on twitter… they’re: k8michael, and cheeky_geeky… rather famous in the “twittersphere”) to talk about the way they use social media in their careers and extracurriculars. Mark is a government scientist who recently ran the Government 2.0 Camp and Kate Michael was Miss DC 2006 and has a blog that has become so popular that she’ll be giving up her day job soon to dedicate her time to all the videos, posts, tweets and social stuff that’s almost 100% online! Hard to believe, I know.
None of these 3 individuals has a life that I would like to directly emulate, but they did show me how to apply personal interests (writing, news, promoting certain issues, etc) into something professional, productive, and even lucrative. Kate gave good advice about how she’s promoted her blog: www.kstreetkate.com, into the online success it is. I won’t tell you specifically what I learned from her, but hopefully my new blog (coming soon), will teach by example!

It was just very exciting to have a new task that I can focus on before I worry about finding my place in the real world… and something that may even help me GET to my place in the real world. So, I’ll be starting up a new blog into something that will hopefully be much more green and professionally focused. I don’t know that this will happen before the end of this semester, but I’m excited about the opportunity…. and I’m more excited that I don’t need someone else to give it to me! I get to make it on my own! How convenient. It just basically works out well because I love to write.

Anyway, the end of the program is going to be so busy and go so quickly. I’m bracing myself by cutting back hours at work, especially because I really want to be able to enjoy DC in the springtime! I’m excited for the stuff we have left, but I’ll admit, I’m excited to be done!

Alright, I’ve got work tomorrow and then I’ll need to mentally prepare myself for another crazy week ahead.

I realize this post may be difficult to understand, but Friday just gave me a sense of direction that I had been looking for since the semester started. It may not be a final direction, but it’ll definitely do for now. Anyway, Andrea, if you’re out there… THANKS!

~Jenny

Thanks Jenny for the mention! I’m so glad you are learning to embrace new media and can see how relevant it is to the Journalism industry. Keep it up! ~Andrea

Are Blogs Diaries?

October 2nd, 2008 by admin | 1 Comment » | posted in: Fall 2008

First of all, I hate blogs. I hate what they say and I hate what they mean. I firmly believe that diaries are meant to be kept a secret and to use one publicly shows a need for attention (in my eyes). By using one to rant and rave about something can be therapeutic but who wants to sit around and read things with people complaining all the time. I don’t. But in the spirit of the class, because DC is supposed be about trying new things for me, I’ll write one for these next few months…no promises that I will continue afterward.

I absolutely love DC. I came to this city to discover whether or not I can do something on my own. I had never done that before. And DC is throwing itself at me in so many different ways that I’m learning that I do not have to be dependent on others to survive life. It is everything I had hoped for.

I’m amazed at how much one city has to offer. Everywhere I turn, there are interesting people from all corners of the globe. There is beautiful artwork all throughout the city. I constantly feel like I am about to explode with an information overload of excitement, but it never happens. There’s always room for more. I already feel as if I have gotten my money’s worth from this program. I feel like I have done more things in the last four weeks than I have done in the last few years of my life. I never thought I would have felt this way. Here’s the thing though: I know that I owe a lot of what I have accomplished already to Amos and Andrea, but I’m taking most of the credit for myself. If I hadn’t felt like it was time to stop wasting my life on a couch and start living, I would have never gotten here to begin with. So, thanks to everyone, but thanks to me too.
~Rachel

Photo By:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hippie/ / CC BY-NC 2.0

I feel like I just got here and already it’s almost time to leave

July 24th, 2008 by admin | no comments yet | posted in: Summer 2008

When I look back on this experience, I wonder if it will seem like the whirlwind that it actually has been. These last few weeks will be the worst of all. I made a checklist of all the things I need to do before I go, but my greatest fear is getting back to Georgia and realizing that I didn’t do any of the things I should have. So today I’ll talk about the things I have done/will do at my internship and the things I have done/will do outside of work.

Before I say anything, though, I just want to comment on how amazing and awesome my internship at CBS News in DC has been. With the help of my supervisor I’ve done a ton of things and met a ton of people that have taught me so much. So far, I’ve been to a political dinner (where all kinds of people spoke), and met Lewis Black, Lara Logan, Bob Schieffer, and most of the CBS Evening News correspondents in DC. I’ve learned a million things about radio, broadcast, and the different roads that can lead you to different careers in journalism. I’ve also been able to shadow an accomplished journalist and his noteworthy colleagues up close and personal. It’s been ridiculous. I couldn’t ask for more. Before I leave, though, I’m also going to shadow someone who covers the White House, someone who reports on the goings on at the Capitol and one of the female correspondents for the Evening News. All in one summer. I really can’t believe it.

Outside of CBS I’ve been doing a lot, too. We’ve visited all kinds of places and heard from speakers that have had some pretty striking things to say. I still want to go and see all of the historical things in DC, though. Like the Declaration of Independence, the memorials and all of the other things that tourists usually come to do. There’s also a Madame Tussaud’s wax museum here like the one I went to in NYC. I think that would be a lot of fun to do, too.

When I think about everything that I’ve seen since I’ve been here this summer, it makes me feel like so much has gone on. There can’t be any other place in the world where someone can collect so many awesome experiences in such a short time. I’ve been throwing around the idea of coming back in the future to work for a few years after I graduate. I love the level of achievement that younger people can find in this city. It just seems like anything is an option and anyone can just stumble into success. That may seem cheesy, but I really feel that way. Coming to DC has to be one of the coolest things I’ve ever done and I’m really appreciative of everything that has happened. So I guess that’s everything. The past month or so in a nutshell and my big plans for the future. See what I mean about the whirlwind?

~Shari