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Major: Communication Minors: Journalism, Management I’ll be working with the Springfield Government Access TV Channel to create, produce, and organize programming which highlights some of the best parts of Springfield. |
Kelly's Entries |
Back in the Swing of Things
Date: January 23, 2009
Well, my final semester has started out with a bang, that's for sure! With only two weeks of the semester gone by, I'm glad that I've quickly gotten back into the swing of things. I'm taking three classes this semester, doing the Springfield5 Internship for credit, plus swimming, working, and "interning" for Witt's newspaper, The Torch - it's a busy schedule, but I'm glad that I'm able to balance it all. My supervisors, Connie Chappell and Shannon Meadows, are really understanding, and since Kathleen, Sarajane and I are all really busy, it's great having each other to work with if we're feeling a little overwhelmed.
Right now, I'm working on a few projects for the TV station. Individually, I'm working on a piece on Springfield's division of Habitat for Humanity, as well as one on the Community Development Division of Springfield's Government. The division is new, and mainly deals with maintaining and improving buildings in the city. I'm still trying to understand it completely - the division is large and takes on a lot of different tasks and challenges, but it seems really interesting and fundamental to the rehabilitation of some of the neighborhoods throughout the city. Next week, things are really going to start picking up, though - I'm looking forward to seeing these stories come together!
Community Development
Date: February 3, 2009
The past week has flown by! I am currently working on about 6 different projects, all of them quite different. A few of them are combined with Sarajane and Kathleen – we tend to meet on campus during the week for those, and at our weekly "Progress Check" meetings, we show our supervisors the progress we've made. However, I also go downtown two days a week on my own to work on a bigger piece that focuses on the Community Development Department, or CD. The department provides a lot of services to homeowners, especially the elderly and disabled. So far, I only have a really thorough understanding of two of the divisions of the department – Housing and Human Relations. The services they offer are really great – they can re-paint the homes of elderly citizens, assist the homeless in finding permanent housing, and also help keep relationships between tenants and their landlords safe. It's interesting to learn about these programs and how underutilized they are by citizens who need them. Hopefully the piece I help create will really show citizens how the city can help them! The next couple of weeks are sure to be busy, though - time management is a skill I will be working on this semester, that's for sure.
