My UMFS Volunteer Journey, Welcome to College

“When I was in college, I wanted to be involved in things that would change the world”– Elon Musk 

This week the UMFS students took a trip down to VCU and even though they spent a short amount of time on campus, it was a fun experience showing them around the school. I think that coming to VCU and actually seeing where we (the VCU students) do all of our work was inspiring to the students in the class who take broadcast journalism seriously. I love everything about VCU and enjoy sharing that with the people I come in contact with so this opportunity to be able to show these high school students what they could one day be apart of meant a lot to me. VCU has given me numerous opportunities and I’m always more than happy to be a representative for the school. For almost three years I was a resident assistant (RA) and since then I haven’t been as involved with younger students. I always took pride in being the first person freshmen meet in college so giving a tour of the school was exciting.

We didn’t have a whole lot of time, but we were able to hit some of the most popular and most recently added ‘hot spots’ at VCU. I honestly think that the students truly enjoyed coming to VCU and walking around campus. The best part was talking to them one on one while we were walking. I’ve noticed that some of the UMFS students are still pretty shy and don’t want to ask questions in front of everyone. One student was asking me about classes and if I get to pick them or if someone chooses them for me. It’s feels like it’s been so long since I was in high school I forgot that I used to think the same things and wonder the same questions they were asking me.

We ended the day back at the VCU InSight studio and the students seemed to love that the most. As soon as we walked in two students rushed to sit in the anchor chairs and acted out fake stories. They were interested in the cameras, the green screen, and entire set as a whole. Overall, I think the UMFS students had a great experience coming to VCU. It’s moments like this when they’re out in the real world and get to see first-hand what the VCU students are trying to teach they that they’ll remember most.

The Real World

“Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” – Benjamin Franklin

Today was probably my most memorable day at UMFS. I was actually able to go out into the “real world” and teach a student hands-on how to work the camera equipment, and most important, what I love so much about broadcast journalism. The class was split into three groups, two would be helping UMFS students shoot interviews and one would be helping a UMFS student shoot B-Roll for their story. I worked with two other VCU students and a UMFS student to shoot some B-Roll around their campus.

This experience was very exciting for me because I’ve been wanting to see how exactly the UMFS students plan when they’re going out to shoot for their stories. I was interested to see the student’s way of doing things and whether or not she had different shots planned ahead of time or if she just shoots what she thinks would look good along the way.

Things were a little difficult at first and because it was a beautiful day the student I was working with didn’t want to shoot video, but instead she was focused on swinging on the playground. As we walked over to the park we found a sign that had one of the elements to the video and she shot it at different angles. I noticed that she would only shoot video for exactly 10 seconds on every shot so I asked her about it and she said she was taught that way. I told her that it was a great rule, but when I shoot video for stories that I write I like to think of how long I’ll be speaking and hold the shot out a little longer so there’s room to edit. She didn’t seem to be listening and I thought she was ignoring me the entire time. I knew she was distracted so I didn’t take it personally and we moved on. When we left to shoot more video in classrooms I noticed that she took my advice and held the shots out to 15 seconds when I thought she wasn’t even listening. It really meant a lot to me that I got through to her and I learned that even though you may think your words aren’t being heard, they really are. I think it’s important to teach outside of the classroom and today proved that.

 

 

Outward Bound

“Great changes in the destiny of mankind can be effected only in the minds of little children.” – Sir Herbert Read

Children are the future and one of the most important things that today’s society can do is create ways for at-risk youth to find a path that is right for them. There’s a lot of criticism about the most recent generation of children and how they’re considered the worst yet. A lot of those accusations have to do with attitude, and while being called the worst generation is completely biased, many programs are being implemented across the country for at-risk teens. One in particular is called Outward Bound.

Outward Bound mixes outdoor adventure with deep, heartfelt situations that allow teens to open up and find strengths in themselves that they didn’t even know existed. The program lasts for 15 days and includes activities that are meant to challenge the participants. These activities typically include skiing, snowboarding, whitewater rafting, canoeing, dog sledding, rock climbing, sailing, and backpacking. These challenges set at Outward Bound help to create a safe environment for the participants so they can feel more comfortable with themselves and maybe even change their perspective on different situations in life. Outward Bound said that they hope to help at-risk youth through nature and, “Whether travel is on foot, by raft, kayak or canoe or under sail, participants emerge to find out that they can do more than they thought they could.”

Obviously Outward Bound and UMFS are extremely different and difficult to compare based on the learning style of each, however they are similar in the behavioral aspect that each organization deals with. In both cases the students involved are learning something new about what they’re doing, and hopefully, themselves as well. For instance, at UMFS the students are learning about interviewing and editing. I’ve noticed that certain students are more enthusiastic about their work and excited to come to class and work on their package, while others don’t want much to do with it. This is where UMFS and Outward Bound aren’t very different after all. Having a challenge or obstacle to overcome is the link between the two. For Outward Bound it’s kayaking or hiking, for UMFS students it’s completing the tedious steps of a package. The part that I play is finding a way to make the students who don’t want to participate find the confidence that they need to succeed.

 

 

 

 

 

We grow because of challenges

“We don’t grow when things are easy, we grow when we face challenges.” –Julette Millien

Every week that I’m at UMFS I learn something new, not only about the students I’m working with, but about myself. This week I have seen a lot of progress in the students’ ability to edit and pick out sound bites as well as in their interview skills and techniques. It’s easy to see how much some of them are really beginning to enjoy the work we are doing.

Instead of working on the cameras this week, I was working alongside a VCU student to help make a UMFS student’s package come together as a whole. Editing is something that I didn’t like to do when I began creating packages on my own, but now it’s something that I’ve gotten better at and is my favorite part of the entire process. I forgot how frustrating it was when I started out and honestly I didn’t like to do it because I didn’t know how to. I saw those same frustrations on the face of this particular student.

I faced my own challenges with the students this week. I really enjoy teaching people things that I’ve learned and were once difficult to me. I like to be the person that says, “If I can do it then you can.” Patience is what got me this week. While helping the UMFS student edit her package it was extremely difficult for me to not tell her when to cut the soundbite or to move around clips in a certain way to make it flow better. I had to let her do it on her own and choose if she wanted to take me advice or not.

I can admit it, I’m a control freak and when something isn’t done the way I think looks best I can get a little annoyed. Of course I didn’t show my frustrations, but it was something that was difficult for me to not say.

However then I realized something. This wasn’t my story. I didn’t go out and shoot the b-roll, I didn’t collect the interviews or do the voice-over. I was so worried about how I thought the story should look and how I wanted it to flow, when I really needed to be putting my trust in the student to make her package come out the way she wanted it to.

This week was a learning experience on both ends and it really made me think about ways I can work on my teaching style.

To see beauty, with its enriching influence

“To seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the good in everyone; to see beauty, with its enriching influence.” –Zeta Tau Alpha

Wednesday was my first day working with the UMFS students and I have to be honest, I was a little nervous at first. I hadn’t met all of the students on the first day so I wasn’t sure how each person would take to me, however after meeting them all on Wednesday it is clear to see how much some of them really enjoy broadcast journalism and the different aspects of it. For instance one student, “Mr. Awesome”, really enjoyed interviewing people, while other students would rather be the interviewee. It was interesting to see each student’s strengths and weaknesses which in return helps myself and the other VCU students so that we can match their weakness with our strength.

I was once told that being nervous is the same feeling as being excited and to channel it into being excited which is exactly what I did at UMFS. Walking into the classroom I honestly didn’t think the students would have any idea how the equipment worked, but on the contrary they knew exactly how to set up the tripods and cameras up and even how to frame an interview. It was impressive to watch these high school students set up equipment that I (when I was their age) would have looked at and had no idea which way was up or how to turn on. However, not everything was easy to teach.

I suppose the most difficult thing to teach the students was interviewing techniques and asking the right questions to the person being interviewed. Of course, everyone loves to be interviewed so it wasn’t much of a problem when it came to them answering questions. I sat down with another VCU student and we did a mock interview where we asked each other questions while the UMFS students watched. Although they watched and understood what we were doing, it didn’t works as well until we tried something different. A VCU student sat down and interviewed a UMFS student and I thought that was brilliant. The UMFS student really opened up about her pets and what she enjoyed doing in her spare time. Not only was it a great interview, but it helped the UMFS student to learn a little bit more about the answers a journalist is looking for when asking questions.

Wednesday’s experience was not at all what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised. These students know what they’re doing, it’s just all about taking the time to figure out the details of getting there. “To seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the good in everyone.” I can already tell that I’m going to learn a lot from the students that I’m working with. Through my understanding I will learn more than what’s on the surface and there’s no place I’d rather be.

 

Beautiful, Wonderful, Worthy

“You are beautiful and wonderful and worthy to be loved.” My college career began with these words spoken by a VCU professor who taught her classes more than just what was written in a text book. Every single class ended …

Chase Headley Shines in Yankees Debut

The New York Yankees are celebrating after a walk-off RBI single hit by the newest Bronx Bomber, Chase Headley. Headley’s debut for the New York Yankees will be one he’ll never forget. The third baseman was acquired from the San Diego Padres on Tuesday and within hours of arriving to the Big Apple, Headley was in the ball game playing to win at Yankee Stadium.

Headley’s first game in pinstripes didn’t start out as an easy one. He came into the ball game as a pinch hitter in the 8^th inning. With a tied game 0-0 up until the 12^th inning, fans were becoming restless and it felt like the game would never end. This was until Arencibia got the ball rolling for the Rangers by hitting a home run in the top of the 13^th inning making the score 1-0 Rangers taking the lead.

In the city that never sleeps, this play woke the Yankees up because matching it in the bottom of the inning was an RBI by Ellsbury that would bring in Gardner for the Yankees. The game soon became exciting for fans watching with a tied 1-1 ball game moving into the 14^th inning.

The magic began for Headley as he stepped up to home plate in the 14^th inning. The pressure must have felt immense standing in a stadium full of fans who once rooted against you. With a 1-1 count Headley hit the third pitch straight to left field, but Rangers’ Aducci couldn’t make the catch in time, bringing in second baseman Brian Roberts. The excitement on Headley’s face could be seen miles away as he ran with a clenched fist. He received a warm welcome home on the field from his new teammates, most of whom he barely even knows. It was all smiles from Captain Derek Jeter and after watching the game for almost five hours, the fans at Yankee Stadium went wild cheering for Headley.

Joining one of the best teams in baseball is intimidating for most any baseball player and after batting a .229 and having hit 7 home runs and 32 RBIs this season alone has only created higher expectations for the 30 year old. Headley has a lot riding on him this season with the Yankees, especially if he performs well throughout it. Not to mention he has big shoes to fill as he is currently replacing long time New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez at third base while Rodriguez is out. Rodriguez has not played this season since he was placed on a full season (including post season) ban back in January of this year.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said in an interview that Headley will be his everyday third baseman for the rest of the 2014 season. Headley accepted a one year $10.5 million contract to play for the Yankees and will become a free agent in December.

Kathryn Yurick VCU Softball

Every softball season since junior high school in 2005, Kathryn Yurick has stepped onto the field with a passion, dedication, and love for the game. Catcher for Virginia Commonwealth University’s club softball team, Yurick said she has been moving through the ranks every year since seventh grade.

“I wanted to play in upper level,” said Yurick. “I tried out for the eighth grade team and got cut, and that summer I tried out for Orion Hunter, a travel team, and got cut.”

Yurick said that it wasn’t until her freshman year of high school that she finally made the cut and joined The Vipers, a travel team in the area. Her parents saw an advertisement in their newspaper and at tryouts she said the coaches recognized her abilities to drop and block for catching and thus began her catching career.

“They gave me a chance and I played for The Vipers,” said Yurick. “Coaches worked with me one on one with my throw and when we played our rival, Orion Hunter, it was always a sweet win.”

Although she has a love for the game, Yurick said the injuries that come with it are not as enjoyable. One of her worst injuries was during a district tournament game. She said she was playing right field and a fly ball was hit to shallow center right field. Yurick said she called out to her teammates that she had the ball, but the second baseman didn’t back off. As she went low for it, the second basemen made a high jump and landed on top of Yurick as her head hit the ground.

“My head spun a little and it still felt like I had almost taken a nap and time passed by,” said Yurick. “I played the rest of the game as a headache progressed.”

A time out was never called and the game continued.

“It was during tournament season so I never reported it,” said Yurick. “To this day, I play far back and don’t know if I got a concussion or not.”

Playing softball for VCU is something Yurick said has changed her life. She said something she really enjoys about VCU is traveling to different universities. One of her most memorable travel games was a VCU game against University of Virginia where she played against her teammate from high school.

“It’s different because it’s a club, but I’ve gotten to know many different types of people from it,” said Yurick. “The whole program is a learning process where if I need help, I can ask others and if they need help I can give them pointers.”

During the summer of 2012 Yurick was given the opportunity to coach the Orion Hunter travel team that once cut her. She said it was the best experience she could imagine because she was able to watch them grow in different areas of their softball abilities. Giving advice to younger players is what Yurick said was most rewarding about her coaching experience.

“I had 14 girls that looked up to me,” said Yurick. “That looked up to what I had done, and that’s what they wanted to do.”

It was that summer of coaching that gave her a new perspective on the game and what it meant for her future.

“If I could play professionally I wouldn’t,” said Yurick. “I love the game, but coaching is where my heart would be.”

Softball is something that will always be a part of Yurick’s life.

“I guess at the end of the day it doesn’t matter where you are as long as you have a love for the game,” said Yurick. “And like life, anything can change within an inning if you let it.”