If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere…

This week is my last week as a HOMTV rookie reporter.

It’s crazy to think I began this journey back in January and it is now May. When I first started I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but, as time went on, I gained a better understanding based on my own personal experience and through the advice of advanced interns.

While I came in to this internship with some previous newsroom experience, which was helpful, I learned even more throughout my time at HOMTV. I believe the hands-on experience at HOMTV is unparalleled to any other internship in the area.

youthacademy

As I think back to my first day of orientation and meeting the then other 11 interns, I wondered what my relationship with them would be like by the end of the semester. The advanced interns from the fall 2015 semester came to talk to us that night and one shared how our fellow interns would become like family since we would be spending so much time together. At the time I wasn’t sure if I fully believed it, but now, I can say with certainty I do.

While we had some interns leave prior to now, I am so thankful to have met each and every one of them. I couldn’t have asked for a better group to share this experience with this semester. And so I want to give a huge thanks overall to the 11 other interns I started out with, and a special thanks individually to the 5 interns that remain.

Maya: It has been such a pleasure to meet you this semester. You are an extremely hard-working individual, and I truly believe you will go on to do great things in the TV news/sports industry. You have great potential. I thank you, too, for always helping not only me out, but others as well, when needed.

Treasure: Where do I begin? You are one of the funniest and kindest people I’ve had the pleasure to meet this semester. I see great potential in you and believe you too will go far in life. Thank you for always making me laugh and keeping my sanity in check when I at times thought I was losing it.

Brittany: You are such a helpful and kind person. You have been a coworker who is always willing to help others when they need it, and providing laughs as well. You are a hard-working, determined woman who I believe will go far in life as well. You have great potential–not just based on the stories you’ve covered (and kicked ass at), but, but being a great co-worker and team player as well.

Bri: You are someone I see with a bright future ahead of you. It’s been awesome to have experienced this internship with you, and I thank you for always helping me out specifically when it comes to tear down or set up of meetings–like with the cable cords. LOL. But really, you have been a great person to work with over this semester.

Alexis: It has been so great to work alongside you this semester. I feel we connected so well because of our background and interest in print. It has been a pleasure to have met you, and thank you for being such a great co-worker and friend and the many laughs this semester.

While I am eager and excited to see what the future holds for me post-HOMTV, I am sad to be saying goodbye to my fellow rookie interns. Like I said, I wasn’t sure if I would make that close of a bond with them like the advanced interns had talked about but, I did, which is what makes me sad about leaving.

I couldn’t have asked for better people to do this internship with and I thank them all, both the current 5 left and former ones, for making this an experience I won’t forget.

Of course, before ending this post, I must give thanks to the staff at HOMTV as well, for giving me and the other interns the opportunity to do this internship. I have learned so much during my time at HOMTV and it wouldn’t be without the knowledge and training bestowed upon us from everyone there. THANK YOU.

And, of course, a special thank you to our internship coordinator, Brandie, for being so helpful and always pushing us to do our best and help us see our true potential.

So, here’s to my last week and enjoying these next few days before I become an official HOMTV alumni.

Until next time..

XO,

Ana

March 2, 2016March 6, 2016

Lights, Camera… I’m Live?

This blog post is dedicated to my first two (so far, anyway) real flops of doing live reports at HOMTV thus far. One part of me wishes these videos could be deleted from cyberspace forever, but, the other part of me knows that at the end of the internship I’ll be thankful that I can look back at these and see just how much I grew as a reporter–and laugh some more about it.

reporter3216 — Reporter at the March 2, 2016 Environmental Commission meeting

So the first live shot is in Okemos on the bridge on Okemos Road. I think I may have been cued wrong, and I also thought I could wing it without my script, even though my boss told me explicitly it was in fact okay to hold it while on air, and told me to have in my hands, but, I decided to think I could do without it and well, you can watch what happened…

Meridian News Now (February 8, 2016)

And then there was tonight (March 2, 2016)…

Meridian Township’s Environmental Commission meeting… So, the beginning part, before the meeting started wasn’t too bad but, it’s the AFTER the meeting where I am always fumbling over my words and having a deer in the headlights look. (Not cute, by the way–embarrassing, lol)

Environmental Commission meeting

But, before I go, as embarrassing as it is to watch this myself, let alone have other people watch them (and probably laugh/cringe), it’s important for me, like I mentioned above, to see when the future comes how much I’ve grown as a reporter at HOMTV. We’re nearly halfway through the semester so it can only go up from here. Right???

RIGHT.

Plus, I want other reporters out there who may just be starting out (or even experienced ones–after all, no one is perfect) and have their own horror/embarrassing stories to know they’re not alone and that it’s okay to make mistakes. We’re human, and that’s what practice is for. It’ll make us better. So, like people tell me (and I try hard to actually believe), hang in there–you WILL in fact improve! 🙂

Oh, and one more… The Planning Commission meeting from February, 8, 2016…

Planning Commission meeting

Until next time….

XO,

Ana

February 29, 2016March 1, 2016

Put on some lipstick and pull yourself together… OOTD: Monday

Happy Monday, everyone!

So when I woke up this morning the sun was shining bright but now that it’s later it decided to disappear. Like seriously, can it just be spring, or better yet, summer already? I’m ready for warmer temperatures and MORE sunshine that LASTS all day.

Anyway, today I’m blogging my #OutfitOfTheDay because I haven’t done so in a few weeks (via my blog anyway)

Here is today’s outfit…

Dress: Charming Charlie, $35

– So I just bought this dress last weekend while I was in #Nashville and I am not one to try things on very often so I just bought it without trying it on, only to be wearing it now and having it be too big. But, thank goodness for safety pins, right? That’s what’s being used to pull the straps up right. Ha.

* NOTE: Try before you buy. *

Nylons: Target, $8

– No big deal nylons but I love them! I had a pair before but they went through the wash and got stuck to my wrap towels with Velcro. Oops! But they have the shape top and they’re just awesome and comfortable. And this color is buff beige, but, they of course sell other colors too.

Shoes: Payless, although I can’t remember the price but if I had to guess, I would say probably $24.99

To finish the look I curled my hair with my bubble wand and used my Maybelline Divine Wine matte lipstick.

— The cost I believe was $7.99 or $8.99, but, I bought a few that day and it was buy one, get one half off, at Ulta.

I’m telling you I’ve seriously becoming obsessed with lipstick lately. I need to get my tax return sent in so I can get my money back and buy some more! (At least one or two 😉)

Anyway, so that is my outfit of the day for today. Enjoy!

And while you’re here, be sure to check out my newly updated blog–the different menus and widgets.

Until next time…

XO,

Ana

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016

There’s No Place Like HOM…

It’s Thursday night, and I am currently sitting at my kitchen table, feeling a tad hypocritical for having just had leftover pizza for dinner, and wanting an ice cold beer, but, not having any, while I stare right at my new It Works! starter kit that came in the mail today.

For those of you who don’t know the gist of It Works!, it’s that “crazy wrap thing”… That aims to help you tone, tighten and detoxify your body. Along with a line including a bunch of other products designed to help you be healthier.

Anyway, not my point of this blog…

It’s Thursday night, and I have officially completed week one of my internship at HOMTV.

While it has only been a couple of days, I must say I am super eager to see what the rest of this semester/experience holds. I have already learned so much in such a short period of time, that I can’t wait to find out what else I will learn from the program/workshops itself, but through my own trials and tribulations.

The first day was orientation, where learned the overview of the program along with the usual procedures and policies. Oh, and we went over dress code… Note To Self: Create shoe bag and leave in car. LOL! I am seriously going to find my best shoes and put them in a bag and leave them in my car so I am always prepared. I wore my Ugg boots to the Wednesday night workshop and while no one said anything, I accidentally forgot my work shoes from my coat closet at home. But, given the weather this week, my initial thought was Uggs=WARMTH! LOL.

We also got our picture taken for the HOMTV website, which, I am super geeked about. And yes, I just used the word “geeked.” (A one-time thing, I swear, lol) Not only will this picture be used on the main HOMTV website, but it will also be used for my soon-to-be in live action, FACEBOOOK FAN PAGE! Yep, that’s right. Us reporters get a fan page! I am telling you this now so you can remember to “like” it on Facebook as soon as it’s up and running.

The following day for my morning shift we watched archive videos of past newscasts and wrote our bios for the HOMTV website. It was a little strange at first, writing in the third person, about myself, but, once I got going I couldn’t be stopped. I wrote the serious stuff, like where I graduated from, what I studied, and where I see myself after the internship. And then, of course, I put the fun stuff–like that in my free time I like to watch my favorite TV shows Pretty Little Liars and Criminal Minds, and that I am a coffee mug collector. And course love Chipotle and shoes. (Although, Chipotle, not so much lately… You know, given their whole E-Coli deal…)

Then, later that evening was our first workshop–the reporting workshop. During this we learned about the Society of Professional Journalists: Code of Ethics, the various terms used in television, and watched previous interns’ work, i.e. packages and stand-ups. I most excited about this workshop, as this is the track I will be focusing on–reporting.

The second day, morning shift, we continued/finished watching the archive videos of old newscasts and began working on our first exam. Our first exam is due Tuesday. Will work on that this weekend. EEEK! The evening portion was our field production workshop–where we learned all about how to use a camera. It was a lot of information to process, but, I definitely learned a lot. It makes me even more eager (although just as nervous, too) to get out there and start shooting stuff.

HOMTV1 — Me and Ar-Rel getting ready for our future close-ups.

This morning I had off. In the evening we had our editing workshop, which involved even more information than last night. I feel super nervous and overwhelmed at the moment, but, after talking to some of the other interns and a seasoned intern, I can move forward knowing it’s okay/normal to feel this way and that everything will be okay. The workshop tonight taught us how to import, export and edit our footage. It’s a lot to do and a lot to remember, but, like I said before, I AM looking forward to it! Can’t wait to see how I improve over the course of the semester. Yay!

Anyway… So that is what my first week at HOMTV was like. I’ll try to update this more frequently as the internship goes on, but, I know the internship itself will keep me fairly busy so, we’ll see. Anyway, look for me on Facebook soon–my fan page. And, if you haven’t already, be sure to like the HOMTV Faceboo0k page itself by clicking here as well as their Twitter handle at @HOMTV.

Until next time…

XO,

Ana