Ready for anything

After this orientation, I feel like I'm ready for anything. All the tips and tricks of the trade we've learned will help propel me to a new level, and I'm going to be sitting anxiously in Providence, R.I., waiting for June 2 to arrive. Though I'm still nervous about beginning at The Providence Journal, these past few days have instilled in me a new sense of hope for success (and the tools to achieve it). In addition, I can't wait to meet even more reporters and editors and begin to receive feedback about my work so I can continue to improve.

A helpful array of speakers

From left: Jason McKibben (Spring 2005), photographer, Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune and Xavier Mascarenas (Summer 2008). (Photo by Sue Serna, Summer 2000)

My favorite thing about orientation so far, besides the people I've met, is how well the program has mixed professional journalists who are outside of our age range with alumni from just 10 years ago. I was a bit nervous that the journalists we would meet would be patronizing or would tell us things we had already learned. Instead, it's clear that the speakers put much thought into their presentations and took care to discuss issues that aren't taught in college (or at least at mine). The lessons we've learned here are helpful, not only for our internships but also for the rest of our journalism career.