New York, New York

Wow, I’ve been quite the traveler this summer, and the lack of updater, too, so sorry about that! Let’s see, what have I been up to? Well, right now I’m in Bristol, CT for a couple of days to get trained with some of the content editing programs ESPN uses so I can get started with that. I’m super excited to be here–it’s my second time on campus after Rookie Camp two weeks ago, and it’s definitely a different feel from being in the New York office. It’s the place you want to be if you want to see the anchors you know from television, the columnists you’ve always heard of, the rooms that SportsCenter, SportsNation, etc. are filmed in.. But being in New York is an experience in itself, and I love it! First of all, I’m living in the city, and for someone who’s only been to New York once before this, it’s a whole new experience. I wouldn’t say I’m a subway veteran yet, but I can definitely say I feel comfortable riding it (though the late night/weekend schedule still confuses me sometimes). Secondly, I work across from the Empire State Building. It’s so unreal coming out of New York Penn Station every morning and being able to find where I work (I’m geographically challenged at times) by looking up toward the sky and walking toward the Empire State Building. Third, I work right near 34th Street and 5th Avenue–both of which are well-known streets with a lot of landmarks, shops, etc. Fourth, my summer housing is in Brooklyn Heights, and I’m right near the Brooklyn Promenade and a subway stop away from Wall St. (and Ground Zero) and South Street Seaport. All are amazing, and I feel so lucky every day on my way to work! Last, and definitely not least by any means, I’m doing an internship that I would ever even have dreamed of slash have always dreamed of doing. I’m working for ESPN in their espnW department. What does this mean? I have an email address, a work laptop, my own desk/cubicle, and best of all, I’m doing things that an entry-level employee would do. I’m not making copies, getting coffee, arranging meetings. I’m listening in on conference calls, working on stories, traveling to live events, everything that I’ve always wanted to that I never would’ve thought possible with such a big company. The people I work with are amazing, and I learn so much from them every day! It just makes me so happy every day going into my office loving every single moment and realizing that reading espnW, watching ESPN, going to sports events, talking to players, telling others’ stories.. that’s my life. That’s what I get to do every single day. I was thinking about this the other day, and I realized that if I hadn’t gone to Duke, I definitely would not have gone on the sports journalism track, and for that, I’m thankful every day. Being on The Chronicle staff has given me so many opportunities to go out and travel and have a taste of what it’s like to be a professional sports journalist, and that dream is being realized slowly day after day. That’s just one of the reasons I love Duke, and my job this summer, and the city.

Now enough self reflection, here is a sampling of the pictures, followed by a slideshow at the end of this post!

View from the Brooklyn Promenade!

Brooklyn Promenade 2nd Edition

View from outside my building of the Empire State Building!

Washington Square Park

And here are Stephen’s pictures–

Brooklyn Promenade

Brooklyn Promenade

Brooklyn Promenade

Brooklyn Promenade

NBA Nation at South Street Seaport

Sprite Slam Dunk Contest

KIA Pack the Trunk Game

Obstacle Course!

City Hall Park

Inside the subway station - home of NY Chinatown!

Shake Shack!

Madison Square Park (& Shake Shack)

Found this in the sand!

Look! I'm a photographer, too--I took this one!

It only looks like this at night because of the shadows

Empire State Building at night

Empire State Building

View from the top!

View from the top

Times Square

Times Square +

Us!

I was going to post the rest of the pictures directly, but I was afraid it’d be too long, so here’s a slideshow–

 

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

More about what’s been happening before New York (St. Petersburg for the Sports Journalism Institute & Poynter Institute for journalism! and California) later–hopefully not two months later!

Home!

One quick update! Sorry in advance for how long it’s been. I’ve just been so busy with finals and papers (I just finished my last one a couple of horus ago!), and I’ve been home for just short of a week. LDOC was super fun, & I’ll be sure to put up pictures soon! Ludacris is a great performer in that he interacted really well with the audience, and it was cool how he sang snippets of a bunch of songs instead of just his recent ones, so we got to hear old school, back-in-the-day late 90s/early 2000s songs. I can’t believe he’s been around that long! Dev was really awesome, as well, so that was tons of fun! It’s still so surreal (& unreal) to me that I’m already halfway through college. It seems like I’ve just stepped on to campus but at the same time, it feels like I’ve been here and known these people all my life. It really is a strange feeling, but one that I’m sure a lot of you are accustomed to, as well. I remember high school passing by like so quickly, but I never imagined that college would be almost two times that speed! Especially with May 1 just passing, I’ve been reminded of my decision to come to Duke, and how that was such a great–and important, though at the time I didn’t necessarily understand the magnitude of it–move for me to make.

Two Days til LDOC!

I haven’t opened a post with “sorry” for a while, but there it is.. I’ve just been so busy preparing for finals, having papers due, etc. that it’s totally slipped my mind about how long it’s been since I last updated! Tons of exciting stuff has happened since, and plenty of pictures will show that, I promise! Now before I plaster up a huge melange of photos, let me explain LDOC. LDOC stands for the Last Day of Classes, which for us, is always a Wednesday–this Wednesday, in fact. The day is always one that is a huge release for students, outlined with fun activities & a concert (this year featuring Ludacris as the main artist!). Here’s a list from the website about scheduled events:

9-11 AM	Rise and Dine on Main Quad Sponsored by SOFC & DSG
10-12 PM	Chapel Climb
12-4 PM	Bocce Ball and Cornhole On Main Quad
1:30-6 PM	Quiet Time, Yoga, and Massages In the Chapel Lounge Sponsored by Religious Life & Duke Student Wellness Center
2-4 PM	Chariot Race in Blue Zone Sponsored by Red BullKaraoke on the PlazaInflatable Jousting On Main Quad
3-4:15 PM	Tie Dye/Popcorn/Cotton Candy on Crowell Quad Sponsored by Wellness on West & SYE
3:30-5:30 PM	Grease Sing-Along in Griffith
4:30-6 PM	K-Ville Barbeque Featuring Eddy B & Tim Gunter
6-10 PM	Concert
10-12 AM	Midnight Snack on Main Quad

& Did I mention Food Trucks??

Springernational & DefMo Showcase

Two Defining Movement (DefMo, our dance group on campus) videos that Stephen edited/filmed followed by a slideshow from Springernational & DefMo Showcase!

Blue Devil Days!

Tomorrow’s the start of Blue Devil Days, and continuing with the spirit of welcoming admitted students to campus (as well as providing information for parents, interested high school students, etc.), I will be sharing a little bit about the different aspects of life at Duke!

But first off, I just want to say Happy Birthday to my Dad, who has been super awesome and supportive and a great help when helping me move into Duke. To celebrate his birthday from 3,000 miles away, I’m including a family picture (then I promise I’ll get on with the post!)

My dad, mom, me, & my cousin Fall of 2009 in front of the Duke Chapel!

Update tomorrow!

With pictures from Lupe (hopefully), Duke Royale (awesome Paris-themed night at the Duke Gardens!), Springternational (a huge event on main quad with performances, food, music–everything!), pictures from when I went to Melting Pot with Stephen for his birthday, & last, but definitely not least, pictures from Cameron Indoor Stadium’s Hall of Fame! I bet you guys have been waiting to see that one. & Along with the post will also be what I’ve been up to for the past week (a TON, I assure you) as well as any new things I’ve learned in class and from research projects. I can’t believe I’m already registering for Fall’s classes tomorrow–time sure passes by REALLY quickly. & Right now, new potential freshmen are trickling in to campus, meaning Blue Devil Days is getting started and that I’ll be hard at work as an Admissions Ambassador and tour guide! Be sure to say hi to me if you’re on campus for BDD! Also–club tennis is playing Nationals at Cary Tennis Park (about 20 minutes from here), and we swept today and are looking to compete in the gold bracket tomorrow! I really hope we come home with the trophy in the future! I also have updates about my internship (including being contacted by a former Dukie!) and a breakdown of my classes for next year!!

Hope you’re excited for a LONG post ahead!

Congratulations Duke c/o 2015!

Hope all of you heard good news, and congratulations to our newest class of Dukies! Definitely feel free to email me with any questions, etc. during this time. I know it’s difficult to choose which college you want to go to!

Congratulations again!

From the land of cheesesteaks

Comes.. delicious cheesesteaks, of course. So before coming to the city, everyone that I talked to who had been to Philadelphia said I had to go to Pat’s or Geno’s, both of which are famous for these delicious foods. So after basketball practice on Monday, the other writer–Andrew Beaton–and I decided to grab some of the city’s most renowned food. We told the cab driver that we wanted to go to Pat’s, and responded that the wait would probably be pretty long and that he recommended Jim’s, which was a couple of blocks away with a relatively short wait. He went on, saying that it was where all the locals ate, and we decided that a cab driver in the city would know best, especially after overhearing in the media workroom that Jim’s was the best. We got there in a couple of minutes, and I had my first authentic Philly Cheesesteak–with whiz cheese (like that liquid chez sauce) and onions.

WBB!

I am currently sitting courtside at this game. More updates tonight!!

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia!

Except for right now.. It’s (according to weather.com) 34 degrees but feels like it’s 27 degrees. So.. why am I here? I’m covering the women’s basketball NCAA Tournament here! The first game is tomorrow at noon, with UConn playing Georgetown, followed by Duke against DePaul. I’m super excited! I still remember last year when I covered this same round of the women’s tournament in Memphis, and the photographer (Christina Pena, who is now the Online Editor and does an amazing job!) and I got to explore Beale St., and I had really amazing barbecue!