I suppose the story of my last day at the NBC News Bureau here in Miami starts with last week. Last week, classes ended and I officially started to shift gears. For me, classes really were the driving force behind my routine, and once they ended, I mentally started to relax. I developed a slight sore throat, and I could feel my body begging me to slow down since it thought classes ending was the cue. My body was wrong. I was not slowing down because my internship ended a week later than classes did. But I began to wish my internship ended when classes did so I could be done with everything at once.
It is clear to me now that I was like a small child acting out in a tantrum, only saying I wished I ended my internship at the same time I ended classes because I was in some sort of denial about my amazing semester with NBC coming to a close. As if I could convince myself I wouldn't be so sad and miss it so much when it did.
I got over that quickly, and some point in this week realized it really was going to end, but it was no reason to feel sad. It was actually a reason to feel really happy.
NBC is a special, special place. Everyone from the editors and photographers to the seasoned pros like Kerry Sanders were so kind and willing to impart knowledge. From my very first day, I felt welcome, valued, appreciated, noticed, and most importantly, I felt like an equal. There are endless intern advice pages out there. They say never say no. Always be the intern who says yes to getting Starbucks, refilling the printer paper, calling the snack supplier. While I am never the intern to say no to any of these tasks, I'm proud to say these requests were few and far between at NBC. The tasks I was asked to do were more often than not things I could do to directly contribute to a story airing on The Today Show or NBC Nightly News. I was sent out to get MOS, I called sources directly, I chose bites for scripts.
Thinking back on all of the things I did, I can't believe how close I really was to all of the action, because NBC put me right there in it. I got more out of this internship than I think I ever could've dreamed of. NBC set the bar high.
Perhaps due to seeing the relationship my parents have with NBC (they both work for CNBC), I grew up with a strong loyalty and affinity toward the network. Kind of like a family whose kids all attend the same University… NBC was the school, and an internship was the acceptance letter on the kitchen table. It's kind of like having a crush. You have an idea of how it would be if the two of you got together, and of course in you're mind it goes really well and you look cute together in photos. But truthfully, it doesn't always go so smoothly in real life. Sometimes, you and your crush just have nothing to talk about and all of a sudden you aren't laughing at their jokes. But to my relief and not-surprise, this internship really was every bit as good for me as I hope it was for NBC. It felt like it clicked. And it's an amazing feeling of validation when your first experience in the field and at the network you have long dreamed of goes exactly how you pictured it, but better.
I'll be spending this Summer interning with CBS This Morning: Saturday, and having been through one entire internship, I am viewing this adventure in a whole different light. Now knowing how attached I grew to the amazing people I worked with at the Bureau, I am anxious and excited to meet my coworkers at CBS. Now knowing how much I learned about myself from this internship, I'm eager to see what more I can uncover in the next step. Now having seen with my own eyes the wonderful world of television news, my tummy is just so filled with fire to see how it works at CBS News.
I set out a really ambitious schedule for myself this Spring semester. I remained a full-time student at UM, I held this internship for 24 hours a week, I remained a Resident Assistant, and I was an anchor/reporter at UMTV's NewsVision. While I am happy and sad all at once about this internship experience and its ending, I look at my calendar from this semester and feel some other things. I feel relieved, truthfully. I feel surprised that I ever even managed to do all of these things, but the more overwhelming feeling is that of pride. I have waited years to be at this exact point in my life. I'm here, and today having finished this internship, I did it.
I am so grateful to the people who opened their doors and desks to me at the Miami Bureau. It is because of them coming into work was a pleasure, an opportunity, and always enjoyable.
On one of my first days at work, Mark Potter introduced himself to me and said, "I'm Mark Potter, I'm a reporter here." Of course I knew that, but it would come to pass that his humility, humor and guidance would play a huge role in my time at NBC. Mark would frequently invite me to his office to ask questions of me, allow me to ask questions of him, and always reiterate his desire to work with me on a story. I'm lucky Mark had me help on many stories -- you might remember the first time I logged sound bites that ended up in his piece. Mark and I said "see you later" to each other last week, since this week he was out working on a story, but I loved that he called today and told me to come back and visit so he can take me out to lunch. It is his faith in me and my generation that gives me such hope for a future in this career. When Mark Potter tells you you're going to make it, something about it just sticks.
A Senior Producer at the Today show and I said a "see you later" today that ended with "if we had a position, I'd totally hire you." For me, this internship was never about a job as much as it was about an experience, but it does not hurt to hear.
And I'd be so remiss to not mention Erika. Erika is a power producer if I've ever seen one. Her intelligence, determination and professionalism was an amazing thing for me to see this early on in my career. Erika always, always asked questions about my life and my plans. She placed value on my opinions and my thoughts, and she told me I'd shine at CBS, and to keep in touch when I did.
My supervisor Victoria treated me to Starbucks today, and NBC was nice enough to treat us all to lunch. I found some party hats in the office and insisted we all wear them. It helped to remember this was not a goodbye. Instead, it was a celebration of just being thankful to cross paths with these people in this company. I will miss this family I have grown into more than words can say. I cannot imagine my weeks going forward without the 24 hours I spent with them.
I wrote thank you notes to my coworkers at NBC, and I was glad to find they did the same. I'm going to frame the card, and it will travel with me in every office I sit in.
According to plan, that would be a small local market in the next year, a bigger market after that, two more medium to large sized markets, and someday (god willing) an office next to Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza.
I am so, so grateful for the things I learned, the time I spent and the people I met at the NBC Miami News Bureau this semester. Words don't seem to do it justice. It was a true starting point for a girl with a big dream.
I know we've all got to start somewhere.
I am so, so blessed I started here.
You heard it here first,
Jordan
It is clear to me now that I was like a small child acting out in a tantrum, only saying I wished I ended my internship at the same time I ended classes because I was in some sort of denial about my amazing semester with NBC coming to a close. As if I could convince myself I wouldn't be so sad and miss it so much when it did.
I got over that quickly, and some point in this week realized it really was going to end, but it was no reason to feel sad. It was actually a reason to feel really happy.
NBC is a special, special place. Everyone from the editors and photographers to the seasoned pros like Kerry Sanders were so kind and willing to impart knowledge. From my very first day, I felt welcome, valued, appreciated, noticed, and most importantly, I felt like an equal. There are endless intern advice pages out there. They say never say no. Always be the intern who says yes to getting Starbucks, refilling the printer paper, calling the snack supplier. While I am never the intern to say no to any of these tasks, I'm proud to say these requests were few and far between at NBC. The tasks I was asked to do were more often than not things I could do to directly contribute to a story airing on The Today Show or NBC Nightly News. I was sent out to get MOS, I called sources directly, I chose bites for scripts.
Thinking back on all of the things I did, I can't believe how close I really was to all of the action, because NBC put me right there in it. I got more out of this internship than I think I ever could've dreamed of. NBC set the bar high.
Perhaps due to seeing the relationship my parents have with NBC (they both work for CNBC), I grew up with a strong loyalty and affinity toward the network. Kind of like a family whose kids all attend the same University… NBC was the school, and an internship was the acceptance letter on the kitchen table. It's kind of like having a crush. You have an idea of how it would be if the two of you got together, and of course in you're mind it goes really well and you look cute together in photos. But truthfully, it doesn't always go so smoothly in real life. Sometimes, you and your crush just have nothing to talk about and all of a sudden you aren't laughing at their jokes. But to my relief and not-surprise, this internship really was every bit as good for me as I hope it was for NBC. It felt like it clicked. And it's an amazing feeling of validation when your first experience in the field and at the network you have long dreamed of goes exactly how you pictured it, but better.
I'll be spending this Summer interning with CBS This Morning: Saturday, and having been through one entire internship, I am viewing this adventure in a whole different light. Now knowing how attached I grew to the amazing people I worked with at the Bureau, I am anxious and excited to meet my coworkers at CBS. Now knowing how much I learned about myself from this internship, I'm eager to see what more I can uncover in the next step. Now having seen with my own eyes the wonderful world of television news, my tummy is just so filled with fire to see how it works at CBS News.
I set out a really ambitious schedule for myself this Spring semester. I remained a full-time student at UM, I held this internship for 24 hours a week, I remained a Resident Assistant, and I was an anchor/reporter at UMTV's NewsVision. While I am happy and sad all at once about this internship experience and its ending, I look at my calendar from this semester and feel some other things. I feel relieved, truthfully. I feel surprised that I ever even managed to do all of these things, but the more overwhelming feeling is that of pride. I have waited years to be at this exact point in my life. I'm here, and today having finished this internship, I did it.
I am so grateful to the people who opened their doors and desks to me at the Miami Bureau. It is because of them coming into work was a pleasure, an opportunity, and always enjoyable.
On one of my first days at work, Mark Potter introduced himself to me and said, "I'm Mark Potter, I'm a reporter here." Of course I knew that, but it would come to pass that his humility, humor and guidance would play a huge role in my time at NBC. Mark would frequently invite me to his office to ask questions of me, allow me to ask questions of him, and always reiterate his desire to work with me on a story. I'm lucky Mark had me help on many stories -- you might remember the first time I logged sound bites that ended up in his piece. Mark and I said "see you later" to each other last week, since this week he was out working on a story, but I loved that he called today and told me to come back and visit so he can take me out to lunch. It is his faith in me and my generation that gives me such hope for a future in this career. When Mark Potter tells you you're going to make it, something about it just sticks.
A Senior Producer at the Today show and I said a "see you later" today that ended with "if we had a position, I'd totally hire you." For me, this internship was never about a job as much as it was about an experience, but it does not hurt to hear.
And I'd be so remiss to not mention Erika. Erika is a power producer if I've ever seen one. Her intelligence, determination and professionalism was an amazing thing for me to see this early on in my career. Erika always, always asked questions about my life and my plans. She placed value on my opinions and my thoughts, and she told me I'd shine at CBS, and to keep in touch when I did.
My supervisor Victoria treated me to Starbucks today, and NBC was nice enough to treat us all to lunch. I found some party hats in the office and insisted we all wear them. It helped to remember this was not a goodbye. Instead, it was a celebration of just being thankful to cross paths with these people in this company. I will miss this family I have grown into more than words can say. I cannot imagine my weeks going forward without the 24 hours I spent with them.
I wrote thank you notes to my coworkers at NBC, and I was glad to find they did the same. I'm going to frame the card, and it will travel with me in every office I sit in.
According to plan, that would be a small local market in the next year, a bigger market after that, two more medium to large sized markets, and someday (god willing) an office next to Studio 1A in Rockefeller Plaza.
I am so, so grateful for the things I learned, the time I spent and the people I met at the NBC Miami News Bureau this semester. Words don't seem to do it justice. It was a true starting point for a girl with a big dream.
I know we've all got to start somewhere.
I am so, so blessed I started here.
You heard it here first,
Jordan
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