Internship 7

The first part.

Internship site: San Diego Suburban News

Department: La Jolla Light

Project Title: Riford Center Profiles

General Description: Shadow 2 people (man and woman) who attend classes at the Riford Center and see how the Center affects their lives, whether it be socially, physically, etc. Write a well-written news story on this.

Learning Objectives: How to write a news story (yes, I did learn in Randy's class, but I can put it into real-world use at the Light)

Organization/Company Objectives & Benefits: A story for the newspaper

Schedule: Tuesday, the 19th: Visit the Riford Center and find 2 possible subjects to base my project on.

Academic Skills: Writing, Photography (the story will include photos)

Technical Skills: " "

Collaboration—Skills and Opportunities: Obviously, I have to work and talk to other people if I want to create a profile story about them. I'll get the opportunity to speak to Riford Center-goers and learn more about their lives, as theirs is much different than the ones I'm used to hearing about.

Exhibition Plans:

Schedule & Timelines: So far, I know for sure I'll be going to the Riford on Tuesday (And on wednesday, but that's for a different story idea). I know that my POL is on the last day of internship, but other than these dates there's nothing set in stone.

The second part.

What were the highlights? What challenges did you face and how did you manage them? How did you work with others? What did you see and/or experience that you did not expect? How would you describe your first week to someone who has never had an internship?

This week has been a very different week. It seems like almost every day I was doing something different. One day (Thursday) I spent the entire time on a computer, writing in codes for a website. I literally did that for all 6 hours of my worktime. Another day (Friday) I went to a middle school and a California University in one afternoon to take pictures and, in one instance, write about what was going on. Some days I'd walk around La Jolla with my mentor to meetings or interviews, while other times I'd go to a nighttime Jiu-Jitsu class to write about/photograph a story I'd been told about. Another day (Tuesday) I'd shadow an executive director of a successful adult center and attend a rotary club meeting at the La Valencia. Already, some of my work has been published in the La Jolla Light about La Jollan buildings that date back to the 19th century.

I haven't had too many challenges throughout the week, except maybe in storywriting (which, here, is probably the worst challenge to have at any time). In a story about 2 young children winning the Jiu-Jitsu championships, I had jumbled facts to write about, and had to constantly e-mail my subjects in order to get straight facts from them. I definitely had some highlights throughout the week. Mentioned before, I got to meet new people and go to interesting new places, which has been amazing.