DePaul's promotional video for our 2010 Olympic experience

DePaul University did a promotional video for the work that we did in Vancouver. Take a look:

"A group of seven DePaul University College of Communication students and alumnae from Chicago discuss the rare and rewarding opportunity they earned to work in the U.S. Olympic Committees press office during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver."

I will blog about the Olympics. I promise. It's on my long list of to-dos. Trust me, I don't want to forget this experience..

WGN Radio podcast of...us!

We were on the radio!

Check out our podcast from WGN's Chicago Now Radio show on 2/6/10.

We had a blast talking to host Bill Leff about Vancouver and the Olympics. We're all pretty excited to be representing DePaul, Chicago and the U.S. Go Team USA!

One more day until we are bound for Vancouver!

And tomorrow is the Black & Gold Super Bowl! Who Dat?!

Blogging from Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics

I leave in just a few days to depart to Vancouver to work with the United States Olympic Committee during the 2010 Winter Olympics. I've had so much work to do and things to organize (for six other people including everything for myself) that it's been hard to take a step back and soak it all in. I think once I get into Vancouver, it will hit me. I think.

In addition to overseeing our staff, I'm also in charge of content and production for the USA Daily Newsletter, a publication that is a preview for the next day's events including information about American athletes. The newsletter goes out to hundreds of media organizations! It's going to be a lot of work, but I think it will be rewarding and a lot of fun.

I'm also blogging about my experience for Chicago Now, The View From Vancouver. You can also follow us on Facebook (View From Vancouver) and Twitter (@vanocview).

I've always wanted to visit the Pacific Northwest, so I'm excited that I'll have some time in Seattle before our train ride to Vancouver. Being from the flat lands of Louisiana, seeing the mountains hasn't lost its novelty. I'll be working at the Main Press Center, which overlooks this beautiful view:

See you in Vancouver!

Countdown to Vancouver..

Lately, I've been thinking about how different my life would be right now if I would have went to the school that was my first choice. I'd be in Gainesville, Fla., right now. Although the University of Florida is a great school (and sometimes when I'm trampling through several inches of snow I think about how nice it'd be to be in Florida..), turning UF down and choosing to come to DePaul turned out to be the right choice. I'm going to the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in less than a month because of it.

I went to a meeting at my professor's office to talk about helping him out with an Olympics Symposium the university was hosting, and he asked me if I wanted to work with the U.S. Olympic Committee during their media summit for the 2010 Games.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

It turned out to be a great experience helping the USOC with the USA Daily newsletter. Because of our work there, we were invited to do the same thing in Vancouver for the Olympics! We will be doing a lot more work, but I know it's going to be a great experience. My goal is to work in sports communication/information. Seeing everything come together after all of the hard work that goes into organizing these events is so rewarding. I hope that this experience is a step in the right direction. Maybe even to London in 2012? Never know..

Breaking Tweets Sports

I'm now a content editor for Breaking Tweets Sports!

The site is a sister site of Breaking Tweets that a classmate of mine at DePaul founded. It helps give a human element to the news through Twitter. The site has received a lot of attention from large news organizations all over the world.

In fact, Journalism.co.uk did a piece about Breaking Tweets and its usefulness in reporting the news.

I've already made my first two posts as the site was launched this week (#1 about Louisville-UConn in the women's basketball championship game and #2 about Michael Jordan entering the basketball hall of fame). Even though I just started posting, it's great to be a part of something that's so unique and growing.

Internships & classes

I came to Chicago in order to find opportunities. I came to earn a masters degree, get my foot in the door, get some experience, make some connections, and get the experience of living in a different part of the country.

As I'm applying for internships, I'm floored at all of the positions available to me. I've even developed an interest and enthusiasm for broadcast I didn't think I would ever have (I don't like being on camera, but editing and producing is exciting). I'm applying for editorial and broadcast internships to keep my options open, but the experience at a news station is what I really want. Even if I hate it -- which I can't imagine I would -- the experience is going to be invaluable to me. I'll know if working behind the scenes at a TV station is what I really want instead of wondering. I came to Chicago because I never wanted to wonder "what if?"

My biggest concern is that I don't have the advantage of growing up here and knowing all of the history and locations of everything. But I'm learning, and I have my own experiences and knowledge to bring to the table too.

On Monday, I'm meeting with an internship coordinator at DePaul. I hope she can help open doors for me to get interviews and eventually an internship this summer. I want to make the most out of being in Chicago, which is why I'm taking a photojournalism class that has never been available to me until now and also a Chicago Olympics class. I have my first Olympics assignment on Saturday.

I think now is the best and worst time to be in journalism; I'm determined to make the most of it.