For the third newscast this semester I did a story on Dawn West, a 52-year-old member of the Pride of West Virginia, the WVU Marching Band.

She is full of life and energy, and it was really refreshing to see someone have such a passion for a relatively thankless effort. The Pride is a big part of the university and is the reason some people attend Mountaineer sporting events.

In order to remain a member of the band, Dawn has taken countless classes past the time she graduated in 1987. A 35-year band member, she’s outlasted multiple directors, six band uniforms, and has watched Milan Puskar Stadium transform in front (and around) here.

She’s a reading teacher at Long Drain School in Wetzel County.

It was a lot of fun doing this story!

Going to band practice was an experience I had not had before. Then after practice being able to “play” Dawn’s trumpet for my standup was slightly embarrassing but way funnier.

Putting the package together was a rollercoaster of emotions.  In all honesty I wasn’t happy at all with it Thursday when our initial edits were due.  I was probably being too hard on myself.

But after final edits on Monday morning, I was thrilled with what I had put together, especially since I got good footage of Dawn performing on game day before the WVU football team’s comeback win over Texas Tech.

This week was also my first time anchoring, which was a unique experience.  Being on camera to record a standup is a completely different feel than being on camera on set.

To be completely honest, I never really felt nervous. I looked at it as an opportunity to get better at something I hope to be doing for the rest of my life. Why be nervous about it?

The hard part was trying to match the energy of the rest of the anchors, which had all been on set before and do a great job.

It appears my hard work for this package paid off once again.  Each of my first three stories have been picked up by ESPNU, which I’m extremely grateful and blessed at the opportunity of. This story also is going to be used by West Virginia Illustrated. We’ve also been told it may be used by ESPNW, which is really cool and something that I didn’t see coming this semester. The opportunity to have my work be displayed in a number of different places is a great feeling, and I couldn’t be more thankful.