Communication: My "Field of Dreams"

As I near the day of graduation from Lasell College, my eyes have opened a little wider and I've started to realize just how lucky I am to know what I want to do. The things I've learned, both at Lasell as a student and an intern, have helped me to know exactly what I want career-wise. For me, it's a passion I wake up every day and strive to reach my goal, at night I fall asleep dreaming of the day my goal is achieved. Sometimes, wanting something so badly can be overwhelming, and I need to remind myself to step back and appreciate the opportunities I've had while continuing to work towards my dream. Yet there are many people worldwide who don't have a clue what they want to do. While working at my part-time waitressing job, I find myself amongst a range of people. A highschool student, a college graduate studying for a medical exam, college grads who don't have a clue what they want, and then there's me: mingling among the masses, smiling at every table as I practice my camera-face, and trying not to drop the burning-hot plates and remember every order as if it were critical information for an article at my internship. We could all be a tv series, if MTV wanted to know what's REALLY in the "Real World". Many people have warned me that sometimes, sticking around in a waitressing job is what happens when after graduation, you lose a set schedule. I lose the cozy little office at my internship, I lose the classy-comfortable dorm room in a victorian house, I lose the loan-covered food everyday I pay for with a swipe, I lose the mandatory assignments which keep me on my toes, I lose the constant surrounding of fellow struggling professionals-in-training, I lose the clubs, I lose the professors who so lovingly grace me with advice. Personally? I'm not worried about what I leave behind here. I leave behind four years of hard work and achievements I'm proud of. I worry, instead, about doing too much. Strange to some, but ever since I found what I want, I refuse to fail and have a tendency to overwork myself. Even on spring and winter break, my ClassE blogs can't stop. Nor can my acting, my modeling, my songwriting-or my part-time job, which will now go full-time. The question more is, how do I take what I've learned at my internship and Lasell and make sure I don't get stuck waitressing? Constant pitching of myself is the answer-or so I'm told. But I've been trained to do that, too, from pitching stories at my internship and via practice in internship seminar. Maybe there are other grads like me-we're not worried about having nothing to do, because we won't. We're not worried about finding "a job" to please our parents, because nothing will do except a job connected to what we want. (Even if it means scrubbing the floors of the place we want to be VP). We're worried about survival of the fittest in a world that won't operate on a loan system, that instead sends you bills for loans. But I've found it's best not to overstress yourself about these things for weeks at a time (as I've been doing), but to enjoy your experience and remember the old italian saying, "que seda seda": Whatever will be, will be. I believe it we work hard as we can, what will be is exactly what we've worked for: the goal career in my field of dreams.

Morals in the Story

Usually, when given an assignment, I ignore every part of me that knows I'm a terrible photographer and go into an event in search of fantastic setups for a shot. I try to keep the camera poised at every possible moment, and hope that one, maybe one, of the 50 or so I take will come out decent enough to land on the web or in the paper. I've been lucky a few times-but for this next event, I'm presented with a challenge: protecting the safety of a speaker at Lasell as I photograph. See, with members of the Secret Service and FBI coming to speak to Lasell students in the criminal justice program this week, it's something that is GREAT to cover from my end. But from theirs, it can be a dangerous risk if someone photographs an agent who may at some point have to go undercover. This leaves me responsible for having to identify who I can and who I can not include in my shots, while also trying to take some that cover the event appropriately. This makes, from my end, a bit of a dilemma: when such esteemed speakers come to Lasell, of course we want to highlight they were there! And who better for a great shot than the entire panel? Now what will I choose as my subject? Yet from a second thought, my morals kick in: No, Emma, this is someone's safety at stake here. And if there's one thing I've learned from my Media Ethics class, it's that being morally and ethically responsible is one of the most respectable things a person can be. In today's society, many reporters are more than willing to do things that can compromise the health, sanity and entire image of an individual just to get a leading story. While temptation is there for any reporter, it's the ones who are the most reputable that in the end will have an enriched career, impressive portfolio and will be granted with trust the more compelling interviews. People want to look good and stay healthy-not too much to ask! Although it's a new challenge, I love being able to be trusted with such responsibility.

The Etiquette of Email

"Emmmaaaa, Can I plz have a quote from u on ur event? thx!! PS- wana get lunch lata? luv uuuuu!" If I ever received this, I'd delete it. If I ever sent something like this, I'd expect it to be deleted. Unfortunately, with the web at our fingertips and T-9 teaching an ever-growing generation how to communicate with others, it's easy to forget how a proper email is fashioned and just how important it is how we address others. The email sample above would never fly in the professional world, and many students aren't properly trained on how to write a formal email. Not being able to do something simple as craft a professional email can seriously damage one's entire career: you represent a company, therefore everything you write is a direct reflection of the company's standards of professionalism. On the contrary, writing a well-versed and flawlessly punctuated email can give your career that extra boost employers these days are searching for. This skill is something that can truly make an intern stand out. Put simply, writing an email is not similar to writing a Facebook wall post. When I'm crafting an email (because there is a proper structure), I always begin with a greeting. "Dear Tim Thomas," for example, if it's someone I don't know very well. If it's someone I do, it is appropriate to open an email with "Hi Tim," or maybe even "Hey Timmy," if it's your best friend. Next comes the body. If I don't know them, asking for a quote would look something like this: "My name is Emmalyn Anderson, representing the Lasell College Department of Communication in Auburndale, MA. I'm just wondering if you may be willing to provide us with a quote for your upcoming event "Working with Children"? If so it would be greatly appreciated." Introduce yourself, and identify where you're from. It's just plain polite, and otherwise, it may look like spam. Next, respectfully ask permission for what you want. Don't assume anyone is entitled to give you anything. If it's a friend, then you may be more relaxed. Something like this would be acceptable: "I'm currently working on a story for Lasell's Comm. Dept. on your "Working with Children" event, and I'm wondering if you'd be okay with providing me with a quote I could use? We'd really love to pump this story up for you!" In this situation, there's no need for introduction, because we're friends. So jump right into what you need, and suck up a little bit: first, I asked his permission for a quote, again. Still not assuming that because we have drinks every Thursday that I'm entitled to a quote from him. Second, I sucked up a bit: mentioning I'd "really love to pump this story up" shows that because you're close friends, it would be like you're doing a favor as well and shows that you care about what has your friends' name on it. You chose them for the quote because you want to give them media exposure. See? It's all in how you phrase it. Finally, it's time to close the email. For someone I don' t know, this is a pretty standard closing: "I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your time, Emmalyn" This is putting the ball in their court. You let them know their response is waiting on THEIR convenience, with no rush to them. Then, you thank them for taking time out of their busy day to focus on your specific requests, out of the hundreds you should rightfully assume they get. Lastly, I signed my first name, giving them permission to contact me on a first-name basis in the hopes that he may write back in the same fashion and you can be on a now first-name basis to build a relationship with this person in the future. If it is your friend, you can be far more informal with this, but structure is still imperative. "Please let me know if you'd be interested in helping me out on this one. Hope to hear from you soon!, Emma" Here, you're asking for help so that it doesn't seem too much like he'd owe you anything for doing him the favor of "pumping the story up for you." Next, you write "Hope to hear from you soon!" in an excited manner, because you really like this person, but just because you're friends doesn't mean you expect an immediate response. Again, ball in their court. Then, you can sign off with a shortened name that you would give them permission to address you as. And, send. Simple things such as how you open and close your email are an easy way for higher-ups to recognize just how valuable you are to a company. Writing an email may seem easy-but it's the simple time you take to make sure it's properly formatted that can ultimately help or hurt you. What's in your outbox?

Juggle, Juggle, Juggle

The return from spring break, as previously mentioned, was not exactly seamless. Things ran just as they had before: homework still came out of nowhere, as for me did outside opportunities that seem to land at my feet when I least expect them. But I like my life that way, crazy as it seems.

I'm lucky to have an internship that is very understanding of outside commitments. For many students, school isn't the only thing you do and finding an internship that respects this can be challenging! For example, I like to act outside of school/interning. It's tough sometimes to balance that schedule, aka "juggle" everything, but otherwise it wouldn't be possible to do both what is needed and wanted-although the truth is, I guess I want it all.

Today, I was happy to come into the office dressed for an audition and still be able to receive a warm welcome and well wishes. Although I try my hardest not to mix one job with another, it's important to me that the person whom I am as a whole is accepted wherever I go, and sometimes time schedules prevent me from minor clashing. Some places won't be okay with your image as an artist, of whatever type that may be. Proud to say, this is not the case at Lasell.

Finding this internship has truly been a perfect fit for me this semester. I've been able to juggle so well that I've missed one day due to sickness (not to brag about my near-perfect attendance..okay I'm bragging). If you're looking for someplace that will accept you for who you are and be flexible yet give you responsibilities you'd like to have in an internship-look at Lasell College's Department of Communication. Just, wait til next Fall-I'm not finished until May, and I won't leave any sooner!!

Return to Monday Mornings

After a much-needed spring break filled with the perfect blend of friends, a little work and a lot of sleep, I find myself back in my cozy office in the Department of Communication here at Lasell with a caramel iced coffee in hand. I look Monday head on, ignoring the screams in my head to go back to sleep, and dive into my first day back at my internship head first: media advisory, web story, big story. Then I hit a bit of a roadblock.

The "big story" is one that I've been working on since the week before break, performing interviews with professors here at Lasell and digging up as much information I can gather. Slowly I've begun piecing together an article, but everything I've written thus far I revise each time I look back on it. Normally, I'd have had this out so much sooner, but every time I do another overlook I find another thing I want to change or a bit of information I forgot and can't bring myself to hit the "send" button for submission. I find myself moving like a turtle on this one. (Slow and steady wins the race, right?) What is going on here?! This can't be me, I don't lag on articles like this!

This is what I've gathered: The Monday morning after spring break is the hardest day of an internship all semester, seeing as at this time for the past week I've been sleeping. I can't seem to put together words on this last article; it's as if I need to re-program my brain! For me, a TRULY hard day isn't one when I have a ton to do. Even on the busiest days, my brain runs on automaticity and just pumps out one thing after another with time flying by.

I, however, refuse to accept defeat from this morning. It's time I throw myself back in the swing of things, multi-tasking like a true winner. My hours might be done in the office, but I'm hitting the send button on this thing by the end of the day. As the mighty Dr. Seuss once said, "I've got a big bat. I'm ready, you see. Now my troubles are going to have trouble with me!"

Learn Something New Every Day

Yesterday, I went out on a fun new assignment to cover author Kathleen O'Shea speaking at Lasell on women aging in prision. Getting out in the field is my favorite thing to do, for several reasons.

For one, I always learn something that I didn't know before about a particular subject. Even if I had previously formed an opinon on the subject, hearing the other side of any subject can only expand my knowledge on what the other side thinks. On the subject of women aging in prison, my general opinion was that they were there for a reason so I had no sympathy. Yet that's not entirely true. What is true is that laws have changed over time, therefore so have the severity of sentences. Some states have such intense laws, i.e., Missouri, that one woman was imprisoned for something her grandson did because since they lived together she was charged as an accessory. Fair? I think not. There was also an imprisoned woman whose wheelchair was stolen by a younger crowd, so she couldn't get to the next building to eat for three days. Terrible things to listen to, but if I never received this assignment I'd never be able to know these different sides of something I thought I knew all about.

Another part of getting out in the field is that I learn something new about reporting itself. My first time out way back in high school, I learned I need a mini-notebook. Next I learned I need a camera, then quotes and interviews, to keep opinions out of things, etc. This time, I learned to always sit at the end of a row in an aisle setting. I thought by sitting in the back I'd be all set, but found quickly that latecomers in this style setting typically make a bee-line for those. I felt awful interrupting people over and over trying to get better angles, but I've got a story to tell and could let nothing stop me from my quest!

In the future, I hope I can continue to go out and cover events at Lasell. To be honest, otherwise I never would have gone to this presentation otherwise, but I'm extremely glad I did!

Proud of my Peers

It seems to be the busiest time of the year for everybody around here, especially Michelle. Every time I turn around, she's off to take pictures of something new, there's a new email about a new article, or a different project on her backburner. Hectic as her life, to me, may seem, it's great to be able to see the way things are inside of a Communications office. With the Leaves deadline looming, there are billions of things to be done and I'm honored to be able to help with them.

There are some things about being an intern here that are different from most places, however. I get the opportunity to go off-site to help track down photos of a student for the magazine, deadlines vary for web/print, and your work can some days depend solely on the responses of others. At times, it's up to our office to be the "annoying person"-if we NEED THAT QUOTE! It's very different than most industries, which is why I find I enjoy it so very much. I'm not usually one to sit still (in fact, I find that hard to do even when I should be relaxing), so I love the opportunity to constantly have different projects to work on. There's always a new interview, new assignment, new project. It's also teaching me quite a bit about my peers at Lasell, too.

Sometimes, I hear my peers say that Lasell students are "lazy", that Lasell is "easy" and boring. Yet I don't feel that way about my soon-to-be alma mater, and I'm finding neither do many of the students around me. The more articles I write and research I do on my peers, the more I find there are students here doing great things. Just like everywhere else in life, it's up to YOU to seize opportunity, or create them for yourself if you don't see them! Writing stories on my peers helps me to network with other students here that are taking advantage of what Lasell has to offer-and there's a lot here, in every department, if you know where to look and have the drive to succeed.

It's up to you, as a person, to find those challenges. This isn't preschool, and nobody's going to hold your hand. If you're dedicated then someone may point you in the right direction, but only you can put one foot in front of the other, and I'm proud to be a part of documenting the accomplishments of my peers.