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.

Well today was my first day interning at Nature’s Best Magazine. Of course day one at an internship is about first and foremost finding your way to the office! Starting off I was alright, my GPS took me through the back-roads to avoid the crazy tolls. I ended up in some gorgeous areas, but not so gorgeous roads. I, of course, drove passed the building at least three times, definitely turned into the wrong lot twice and FINALLY located it with some help from some paper directions.

Anyway, the few hours I was there was dedicated to introductions more than anything. The small group that runs the organization is great; they are all very personable, smiley and inviting.  Deb and Stephen Freligh, the owners and art directors of the magazine, told me about all about what’s happening this summer. They told me that I would most likely be doing a lot of research on photographers (professional, amateur and student), helping with upcoming photo competitions and some customer service.

At noon a photographer came in to show us something he has been working on, he said it will benefit both the magazine and the Smithsonian (which Nature’s Best works very closely with.) It’s all hush-hush though so I can’t really elaborate…. all I know is that his video was very interesting and I had no idea what he was discussing was even in existence!

They’re very flexible with hours, which is awesome, so the real stuff will start tomorrow and I’ll work 10:30am until 3:30pm. I think we (when I say we, I’m referring to myself and a girl named Emma who attends RISD, she’s also interning there) will be learning the ins-and-outs of everything. I’m very excited for this internship!

Halfway though the semester here in DC we were given an assignment to create a one minute video haiku. Take a look at my video and tell me what you think. If you were a song what song would you be? If you were a color? a country?

You may be reading this and thinking, “What happens to SIWJ students after they leave the program?” Maybe they come to DC, intern at amazing media organization and return to their home school to sit in lecture classes to get lost in the crowd? Not even close. Especially in the case of two special alum from our Summer 2009 program. Josh Patterson and Lauren Hogan both have been bitten by the travel bug and look to travel to world for one year, for FREE as part of STA travels Worldwide Traveler Internship. They are both applying for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the world and we need your votes to help them win! Take a look at their video submissions below and then take .5 seconds to vote for them. Who knows maybe if they win SIWJ can take a field trip to meet them at some exotic location abroad. Good Luck!

Vote for Lauren Hogan here!

Vote for Josh Patterson here!

Thanks for voting!

This is my first post on the SIWJLive Blog.  Granted we started the program two weeks ago… but better late then never- right?

Well, let me start by  saying hello.  Hello!

My name is Talia Ran.  I like long walks on the beach and candle lit dinners, my favorite colors are purple and green, and I dislike the sound of ice being chewed– it gives me the willies just thinking about it (Yes, ’the willies’ is a technical term).

Unlike my fellow SIWJers, I am no longer in school.  Instead, I am one of those recent graduates who, 2 years ago, had plans to go to law school and become a hot shot lawyer. Today, I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.  Despite this, I do take a little comfort in knowing I am not the only one with an uncertain future.  Luckily for me, I stumbled across this absolutely fantastic program through a web search of News and Writing Graduate Courses at George Washington University.

Each day with Andrea (the program assistant and adjunct) and Amos, the Director, brings a new adventure.  During our boot camp we had the pleasure of a personal walking tour around DC by THE Bob Levey of Washington Post fame and we met the amazing staff of The Georgetowner (which we will be working with throughout the semester).  It just gets better!  Tomorrow I will be starting my first day interning at Moment Magazine and I feel just like I did the first day of high school: “What should I wear?” “Will they like me?” ”Will I like them?” My nerves may bit a bit high, but I know it will be a fantastic experience that will give me the opportunities to learn and grow as a journalist.

Only time will tell how things work out, but I have high hopes.  I can already feel this is going to be one of those defining experiences.  I am so excited, I can’t wait!

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.

For one of the recent Semester in Washington Journalism assignments students were asked to create a 1-2 minute haiku using a small Flip video camera. Watch and see what Margaret had to say. If you had to make a video about yourself, what would you say?

For one of the recent Semester in Washington Journalism assignments students were asked to create a 1-2 minute haiku using a small Flip video camera. Watch and see what students came up with. If you had to make a video about yourself, what would you say?

When asked to describe myself in one minute, I had an hour’s worth of words to use. Then I was asked to describe myself in a minute’s worth of video and that was hard. After much thought and preparation, this is what I came up with. Below is me, Brittney Cooley and my Haiku.

For one of the recent Semester in Washington Journalism assignments students were asked to create a 1-2 minute haiku using a small Flip video camera. Watch and see what students came up with. If you had to make a video about yourself, what would you say?