Graduation

Well we did it. We walked, and we got our pictures taken, and we threw hats.

Broadcast people - before the majestic climbing of the walkway.

We also ate a lovely dinner and enjoyed the company of friends and family.

Magleby's -- they catered our wedding, it's only fair
we have graduation dinner with them too :)

I'm going to miss the Heaps!

Last silly time with Haleigh for a long time :(

Elder Oaks

"The mark you receive as a BYU graduate is neither involuntary nor self-imposed. You sought this mark, and it is put upon you by proper authority. After today you have more than a new line on your resume. You have been marked. As a BYU graduate, you are, as we say, a marked man or woman.

...

“We all have marks or labels upon us. Our names and many characteristics of our appearance, such as family similarities, are marks. So is our speech. These marks are involuntary. Other marks are voluntarily assumed, like religious symbols that various faiths use on their apparel, which we honor, and tattoos, which we discourage. Our Savior is the model for the self-imposed mark of the utmost significance.”

...

‘You all have a mark upon you after today — you will be known as a graduate of Brigham Young University, which is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The people who know you and see you will judge the Church by you. Your great mission is to hold the banner high.’"

Just striking a pose, you know

I did it Ma!

Where's Andrew?

That's Master Andrew to you!

Brother Curtis, News director extraordinaire

And best of all: we graduated!

"Are we done taking pictures yet?"

No way! Yay pictures!

Hey look!

I'm a real person!You should hire me :)

Uh oh

I'm working on an investigative report right now. Woohoo! We're talking bad guys ripping people off and it may end up involving a GRAMA request. Real stuff in the making. I have Jourdan to thank for the tip, by the way.

In the meantime though, since that's a little bit more involved than just an afternoon of interviews, I have another story for tomorrow that's shaping up quite nicely. And I'm finally anchoring live tomorrow! Tune in on KBYU (channel 11) at noon to see Jenné and I work our magic :)

More stream of consciousness

I know I've complained too much in the past months, but life is really good these days. Plans seem to be materializing, things seem clearer.

I love my classes--without exception, and it's crazy that it would take until my final semester at BYU. I love reporting, I love anchoring (we're finally going on air this week! Watch at noon on KBYU channel 11 or catch it later on the ElevenNEWS website) and I love my international media systems class and my world religions class (I highly recommend taking them concurrently by the way. Random how that worked out) and I even like my advanced writing class, which I was kind of dragging my feet about. Crazy! And somehow, even though I'm ridiculously busy, I don't feel overwhelmed. (Yet.)

Also, I went for a nice sunset drive tonight and picked flowers and did plenty of homework this weekend and... lots of good stuff.

Oh, and did I mention I found a navy blue blazer that looks great and cost only $21? Yup, you read right. For all of you fellow broadcasters, check out Forever21 for a crazy selection of blazers all the colors of the rainbow for under $30. It's broadcast heaven. And new mascara is nice too. Isn't it sad that you only get to appreciate a new mascara wand once though?

Ha ha

Seriously. Life is good. And since it's Sunday, here is my latest favorite thing from the Round Table. It's a great podcast in general, you should definitely check it out. And here's my new favorite mormon message--this guy is too sweet!

Family - a proclamation

So there's this blogger I follow, her name is Jocelyn and she is one of the most inspiring people I know. She used to be in broadcasting (do you see why I like her? :) and is now a stay-at-home mom. She blogs about their family life but most of all about her attempts to teach her children righteous principles. She writes beautifully and I love to hear the small and simple ways she testifies of Christ to her family. I hope I'll be as awesome a mom as she is.

Anyway, all that to say that in September she hosts an event on The Family: a Proclamation to the World





in collaboration with some other bloggers. It's always an inspiring read, and I love hearing so many women's perspectives on the proclamation and its role in their lives. You should come join the party!

On the importance of keeping up on the news

I got burned by a current events pop quiz today... Never again.

So I've finally seriously committed to Google reader and added a few RSS feeds. I might have to move it around in the next few days, but this should do the trick... I hope. I am very grateful for modern technology: RSS feeds are a fantastic way to keep up with what's going on.

And I've mentioned this before, but World Crunch is a seriously awesome website. They are dedicated to translating a selection of news stories from around the world into English. Also, I kind of want to work for them.

Stroke of inspiration: that is a job a stay-at-home mom can do "fingers in ze nose" as my english teacher in France used to say. Ha ha. She had difficulty grasping the concept of transliteration versus translation... it's a french expression akin to "piece of cake."

Anyway. This article is interesting, from Le Monde -- a portrait of a Libyan rebel leader. And perhaps a  glimpse of what the future may hold.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the audition went.... ok. I left at a perfectly reasonable hour, but the bus decided to not show up for another solid fifteen minutes so I ended up sprinting across campus and arriving late, red, frazzled and with my hair in a mess. Did I mention frazzled? I did fine, apart from my hair falling into my eyes every three seconds... Oh, and aforementioned pop quiz was part of the auditioning process... Yeah, should have expected that one. I'll have results before Monday HOLY CRAP I JUST CHECKED MY EMAIL.

I got it!!! 

(I think I can allow myself a few extra exclamation points right now.)

I got it!!

I got it!!!!

This is one of those days where this blog is rather appropriately named. My last semester of school is going to rock.

On the art of reading teleprompters

My husband knows me too well. Now, when he does something very husband-worthy, after he's had his moment to bask in the pride of being such a great husband he asks me: "are you going to blog about this?"

Ha ha

So, because he really is awesome, here is the latest feat:

He knows I really, really want to anchor the newscast this semester. It's my last semester, I think I've got what it takes, and I want it bad. So last night I read him a bunch of scripts out loud as practice. Tonight, when I got home, he had prepared a little "exercise" to help get me ready for the audition:

He had found a YouTube video of a teleprompter so I could practice reading the real way. (People, reading from a teleprompter is not as easy as it sounds! And after a summer of not doing it, I wanted to get back in the groove, you know?)

Anyway, it was an awesome idea, and now I'm all ready for that audition tomorrow. Wish  me luck!



And because I need to rant just a little bit... There are fifteen million girls trying out, and about three guys. But of course, they like having a male/female anchor duo, right? So... guys just have it too easy. I feel like I'm in ballroom all over again. Ugh.

Things I learned from my first day of real interviewing

1) A cameraman/carryall man/emotional support is a good thing to have (DH filled in on this one, and he also drove me around. Need I say how I feel about that?)

2) Having a major breakdown because nobody will let you speak to actual people of importance ruins your makeup.

3) Bring more makeup (see 2)

4) Check your equipment before leaving

5) Camera lights sometimes explode. (see 4) It wasn't my fault.

6) ALWAYS check your audio before continuing with the interview, even if you pulled an important person out of a meeting that only has 15 minutes to speak to you. *

7) If there isn't any sound once you return to the lab... your situation is hopeless

8) Secretaries are evil

9) If you're getting nowhere, just show up; people will talk to you. (see 8)

10) Don't just listen to the spokesperson-- get the real people that work there too **

11) Getting more than one interview can save your life (see 6 and 7)

12) Don't wear a coat that makes you look fat for your "stand-up" (the part where the reporter is on camera talking about his/her story). The camera makes you look fat enough as it is.

13) From the moment your story is approved, all hell will break lose.

14) I love reporting. I really do. It was the scariest, most stressful thing I ever did (ok, maybe not EVER, but in my school life most definitely), but it was also tons of fun, and I met such amazing people today and learned so much. I want to get better at this.

* I did a piece on teen pregnancy (a report just showed that teen pregnancy is on the rise again in the US after a decade-long decline). I couldn't get a hold of anybody from a local community health clinic through the secretary, so I eventually just showed up and asked somebody who looked in charge if I could talk to someone. She went and pulled the executive director out of a meeting he was in--he was so kind and agreed to give me 15 minutes, so I was thrilled and in my hurry to not waste his time I plugged in the mic, hooked it on him, TURNED IT ON, but didn't double-check with earphones to make sure it was recording (I guess I didn't push the cord in all the way or something??). So we finish the interview, which was amazing-- he is such a kind and compassionate man, had some wonderful things to say about community health and was just a great interview... except that when I went back and rewound the tape there was NO sound. NONE. I managed not to cry.

** BUT, as I was leaving the clinic thinking I had what I needed, there were a bunch of nurses/medical assistants sitting around chatting by the main desk. They looked really nice so I asked if anybody wanted to go on camera for me... I told them the piece was on teen pregnancy and one of them goes "ha I can tell you about teen pregnancy!" I couldn't believe my ears: turns out she had actually BEEN a pregnant teen in the 90s, and she was completely willing to go on camera, tell me her story, laugh about all the crazy things that happened to her as a 15-year-old mom... She was GOLDEN. She was full of spunk and had so much to say and gave such a warm, personal aspect to the story.

I want to pull out my hair at the fact that the director's audio was killed, because it could've been so much better with two interviews--never mind the "authority" that it would've leant to the story--but I can definitely say I've learned my lesson.

If you want to watch my story, it'll air on BYUTV tomorrow (thursday) at noon. Wish me luck!