Florence January 2009

Renaissance Art in Italy

In January I took a class for my art history core requirement in Florence Italy. This experience was far more than just an art history class. I was able to truly live out the experience of studying art history in the most culturally interesting way possible.



Group shot standing at the top of the Duomo in Florence.







Group shot on the first day in Florence, outside of Santa Croche.





(Left to right) Emily, me, Lauren @ lunch on our day trip to Siena.







Worlds best hot chocolate. 53 euro for 5 hot chocolates- but most definitely worth it!





In front of the Vatican in Rome. (Left to right) Alison, Lauren, Emily, me, Rosie.

Philippines Summer 2008

This past summer I traveled with 27 other members of the Fairfield University community on a 3 week service-immersion trip to Manila, Philippines and Sydney, Australia. While in the Philippines we stayed at Ateneo di Manila University.





Eileen & I in front of the church at Ateneo University, Manila, Philippines, where we stayed for 10 days.






My group from Fairfield University joined with members of Georgetown University. Here is a group shot of all of us.




This is the family I stayed with for three days in a remote village in the Philippines. The hospitality and genuine kindness the people of the village showed was unlike anything I have ever experienced.




(Left to right) Kim, Bob, Patrick, and I.





Fairfield University & Georgetown University leave their mark in the sidewalk we built.






Some of the kids in the village & I.

Mirror Stories

March 2009
"Out of the Dark"
"Twice as Nice"
February 2009
"Fight the Yawn"
December 2008
"The Little Engine That Could"
October 2008
"Walking for a Cure"
September 2008
"Keeping Up the Cause"
"Project Gives Student Leaders an Opportunity to Shine"

For more head to The Mirror.

CMA (College Media Advisors) Conference- NYC

This past weekend I was in NYC at a CMA (College Media Advisors) conference. Throughout the weekend I attended several interesting sessions that helped fuel the fire that is my passion for journalism and continue my path towards a career in the field.



Here's a look back at the sessions I attended:

"Profiles: Hammer the Scenes"
Eric Anderson
ESPN Magazine

This was my favorite session of the weekend. I found his technique in getting the subject to feel comfortable and in asking vague questions. He talked about using the monkeybar approach and letting the subject give you the next bar so you can swing to it. I learned about the importance of watching for body language and being careful not to assume anything.

"Improving Flash Photos"
Ken Kobre
San Francisco State University

Although I do not consider myself a photographer I hope to someday be one. I enjoyed this session because Ken Kobre is the author of my current Visual Journalism textbook "Photo Journalism". I learned that 98% of blurry photos come from handshake and that is one of two kinds of movement- camera shake and subject movement. I also learned not to use direct flash. In order to light a subject best one should bounce the flash. Flash is best when bounced off a ceiling because the light spreads out and increases the size of the light source. However, there are 3 cases where this may not work. 1. High ceiling. 2. No ceiling (outside). 3. Colored ceiling (esp. black).

"How to Get a Job and Keep a Job"
Malcolm Gibson
University of Kansas

Gibson stressed the importance of networking and investing in yourself to increase your resume. When he spoke about cover letter and resumes he talked about putting something in there that sets you apart. He talked about how he looks for students that have a broad world view.
He also discussed the importance of developing strong interviewing skills and how you should know as much about your interviewer as they know about you.

"Going Independent"
John Di Carlo
Temple University

This session was about learning to build and maintain an independent Web Site to meet the needs of your newsroom.

Mirror

Since my freshman year at Fairfield I have been an active member of the independent student newspaper, The Mirror.

2007- Freshman year I wrote articles primarily for news. I remember my first piece was an article about an art museum that was to be constructed under Bellarmine, the then-current admission building.

After getting my first piece under my belt I moved on the cover stories such as speakers and campus events.

2007-2008 My sophomore year I was hired as Assistant Editor of the Campus Life section of the paper. In this position I wrote article mostly for my section of the paper and also helped edit stories for ampus Life and work on the weekly layout of my section.

It was during my sophomore year that I began taking photographs for the paper as well. I began by following around the paper's staff photographers and eventually began photographing smaller events and whatever else the paper needed covered that week.

2008-2009 Junior year I became Editor of Campus Life. I slowly stopped writing for the paper because I got so busy handing out stories and getting them handed in and edited. The majority of my time was spent laying out my section so I no longer had time to write.

Over the past few weeks I have found the time necessary to start writing again, and my love for journalism has returned. Last week I wrote and article about the Commencement speaker being announced- Dr. Peter Pronovost and this past week I wrote about a Professor who wrote a screenplay entitled "Helen Keller Speaks".

As the semester rapidly draws to a close I hope to continue to find time to write and have my storis printed in the few remaining issues.