All summer, actually every year, I have spent here at WVU. I have always heard how stressful and difficult WVU News was. I constantly would hear that WVU News is extremely time-consuming, and you have to dedicate “X” amount of hours to be successful in the class. Two weeks into the class I found out that no one was lying, but they did leave out how satisfying the class is.

          After receiving cameras the third week of school, it seemed like things were going from zero to 100, very quickly, but it never stressed me out. Once everyone’s ideas were solidified and stories were chosen it made life that much easier.

          Sitting in the press box for the second game of the season against East Carolina, felt surreal, but a light bulb went off when I turned to page three of the media guide and I found my first story. Immediately I knew I had a story, because it is always stressed that college athletes are “students first.” So I thought it would be perfect to pursue. Then I quickly learned how i am going to have to use some ingenuity to get all of it done. Luckily I had the help of my fellow sports reporters Ryan Decker and Elizabeth Haines, who made the entire process worthwhile, just because I knew someone would always be willing to help me.

          Like I mentioned earlier, all of this was extremely satisfying in the end. Being able to watch my package go from crap to looking like a professional story. Then there was the feeling of elation arriving to set for the first show. Surprisingly I was not nervous, until I watched the show and saw my wandering eyes. A good laugh, but something I would like to work on.

          Watching my classmates succeed was the best feeling though. Seeing them complete their packages and read off of a teleprompter, just made me that much more excited. It gave me that satisfying and confident feeling that I want to do my best for the sake of the team and a good show.

          The set environment is completely different from being in the field and having the freedom to move around and talk. And I was still like a kid in candy store. It’s not that I was surprised that we had to be quiet and use our time well, but it was very intense. Getting mic’d up and carrying the cords around till it was time to be on camera, it almost felt like being a production assistant again.

         All-in-all I look forward to doing this again. From wearing makeup for the first time, to reading off of the teleprompter. It just feels good to know that next time, we will all be prepared, well informed, and prepared to give our best performance.