The first stop of the day was C-SPAN and it was so interesting to sit in the crowd at “Washington Journal” taping. The two guest that spoke were almost opposites at least personality wise it seemed. There was the former Virginia governor and Tucker Carlson. Tucker Carlson was very attention grabbing when he spoke and I really enjoyed being in the audience; I know some students seemed taken aback by his stances but I just loved it. He was just an outrageous man with many opinions, and he wasn’t afraid to admit that he was ignorant, which might be why he was so interesting to listen to throughout the morning. It was all very surreal and such an honor to be present in the studio. Brian Lamb was extremely entertaining, with the constant questions and opinions being thrown around-he really knew how to work a crowd. All the information Josh Earnest, President Obama’s special assistant, had to provide was very relatable. He is young so a lot of what he spoke about seemed even more relevant to what we most likely will experience. He was very useful in talking about how he fished through his bad experiences to hook something bigger and better. The next stop was the Smithsonian Museum, which was so fascinating. I explored the air and space building and fell in love with the NASA exhibit. The down pour kept us in that building but we were more than fine with that because we were surrounded by non-stop intrigue around every corner.
After dinner we got to sit in on a panel about the Chandra Levy case, with Sari Horwitz and Scott Higham. I personally loved reading this book and was so upset when I forgot it in my room during the panel for a chance to get it signed. This was a panel that explained how they went back through to rework what other reporters and investigators had found to see where things went wrong. It was so interesting to listen to and I was captivated throughout the whole panel.
I have no words for Dean Andrew Flagel’s college admissions session. He was personable and humorous-making for the perfect presenter for us after this amazing yet long day. He was real and helpful with thinking about college and letting us know what were real things we need to concern about. His guidance is much appreciated and will be used no doubt.
I can’t believe it is almost the last day! This has been so amazing!

Today we visited the National Press Club, but before we went there we got the amazing opportunity to hear three speakers on PR and the press. The speakers were: Ed Prugh with Nevin Communications, Erin Munley with Fox communications and Lauren Reese with the chamber of commerce. Each of these had useful information from their personal experience.
We had a long day and early morning so this will be a speedy entry! From there we went to the National Press Club which had to be one of my favorite things we have done. The panel was interesting and seeing Hoda talk was unbelievable-getting to meet her was just icing on the cake! The panel that spoke before Hoda consisted of: Chuck Todd, Jessica Yellin, and Jonathon Martin. Observing the banter between them and just listening to what they had to say was a great experience. One thing they stressed was that experience was everything and something that Chuck Todd said that stuck with me was that “you are your own credibility.”
Hoda had an outstanding speech and was someone that I would like to see speak again. The panel that we had at dinner consisted of Angie Goff, BJ Koubaroulis, Kevin McCarthy and Lynn Norris. This was another fun group to listen to because they each had their own type of journalism that they spoke about and how they intertwined. I will reflect on each of these more tomorrow but I am going to wrap it up with the moonlit monument tour we had to end our evening. This was very cool because in all the times I have visited I have never seen any of these places at night so it was just something fun and different to do.
Today was excellent and I can’t wait for tomorrow!

I just wanted to briefly blog about Ed Prugh. He spoke to a group of us today in the break out sessions about public relations. He was very helpful and extremely knowledgable about this field. As someone being interested in public relations I know he is someone that would be a great contact for any questions and I recommend looking into him for anyone interested in public relations that didn’t get the chance to hear him speak today.

Today we visited the Newseum in Washington D.C. My personal favorite part of the visit was Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery. All of the pictures were extremely moving and breathtaking. It was clear why they were chosen because they made you feel something and react, wanting to know more about what was being captured at that moment. One of my favorite photographs was the one titled “Burst of Joy”. In this you saw a family being reunited with their father and husband after they had waited for six years not knowing if they would ever see him again. There are so many things to cover and say about the museum but I will just keep it simple and post my two favorite things. The second would have to be the Berlin Wall exhibit. It was overwhelming to be standing in front of the giant slabs of the wall and watch tower that were in the exhibit. Your eyes were always wandering somewhere across the wall or other pieces they had on display. The Newseum is definitely some place I hope to go see again because there is just so much there to take in.

“People pick up on passion.” This was something that stuck with me after Chris was done speaking. He said this in the response to a question about starting a blog and what one should write about. His advice was to write about something that interest you and that the people will pick up on the passion you have about your topic. He was very interesting and Insightful. I plan to look into his blog and other forms of journalism he takes part in.

Just started Hoda Kotb’s book, and am loving it!

Can’t wait to finish it and see her!

Next I’m reading Finding Chandra, it looks very interesting.

Roughly three weeks until the conference so exciting!!!