DANA: The End is Nigh- WE CAN DO IT!

We can do it!

Finals week has started for me and I'm pretty sure Erica's finals are next week. We are so close to the end of our first semester at a real university! I'm proud of both of us for overcoming obstacles to get it done and I can't wait till we graduate together. Well, not together but at the same time.

My summer will be filled with working and school. I'm taking two online classes and I'll still be working at the World. Nick and I are going to start the summer with a bang by going to Cancun at the end of May! We really can't afford it but we committed back in January so it's too late for a refund. Oh well, we're going to make the most of it and try to have fun!

Then, I got the James Richard Bennett scholarship so I get to go to the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in June! I'm very, very, very excited for that and not just because it's in VEGAS!

But on that note, I'm starting to second guess my Broadcast major. After working at the World and going through a fairly tough reporting class, I'm wondering if I should be News-Ed instead. Everyone makes fun of T.V. reporters and thinks very little of them. Newspaper reporters thinks they are all airheads regurgitating newspaper headlines and my reporting professor seems to think very little of them as investigative reporters. But, on the other hand, everyone also says newspaper is dying. I just don't know anymore, journalism is such an unsettling field.... sigh...

Ok Erica- Girl I know you are busy but don't desert me here!

DANA: Journalism, Sunshine, and Daffodils

I LOVE that spring is finally here. I have had such a bad case of the winter doldrums and it didn't help that I had to leave Tulsa and everyone I know to come to Stillwater. But, now that spring is here, things are actually starting to get better. I don't dread waking up to go to class in the mornings and I'm starting to get involved in school things. Right now I'm helping Alpha Phi Omega and the regional Oklahoma Food Bank with their spring canned food drive. Since its looking like I will have to be in Stillwater Monday-Friday this fall, I think I will start to get even more involved with school organizations. I'd like to join the Association of Women in Communications and get more involved in the Society of Professional Journalists student chapter. And who knows, maybe I will do even more. We will see!

Honestly though, I haven't really had time to get involved in anything with my classes this semester. I'm almost tired of journalism at this point. My reporting class alone has been killer and now I'm working on a 1300 word in-depth article about (da da da dum)... campus police overtime. Yes, it probably will be as boring as it sounds. And I honestly don't even know where to start to find a good angle for it.


Aren't the daffodils pretty? I never noticed what beautiful flowers daffodils are. And they smell... amazing. :)

DANA: Getting the Boot.

It is now May 4th I started this blog entry back in March I think....

Anyway, here is a picture of my mom's Tahoe with a boot courtesy of OSU's Parking & Permits patrol. Gotta love that!

It cost me $50 to get the boot taken off just because I let the meter I was parked at expire.

DANA: Workin' at The World

When I saw the printing press for the first time, I actually screamed. I really did. Not like a horror movie scream, but more of an excited squeal. I was getting off the elevator on my first day of work and there it was. Through floor to ceiling windows I saw an actual printing press for the first time in my life and I actually felt like I was part of something. I felt like I was part of something real- something with a true ability to empower people.

That was two months ago. Now I pass that printing press everyday, once on my way up to the newsroom and again on my way home. I still get excited when I see it because I know that, even though I personally am just an obituary writer, there are people all around me reporting the news. Even though I'm pretty insignificant, there are people all around me actually making a difference. And the fact that I get to witness it first hand is enough for me... right now.

Leaving work today, I stopped to look through the windows at the printing press again. It was printing thousands of copies of tomorrow's Tulsa World. That really made me smile.

ERICA: New Opportunities to empower women!

So, along with taking Women & Gender courses this semester, I met up with a good friend/acquaintance from high school (who graduated 2 years before I did and knew mostly from others who spoke highly of her), Carlisha Williams, who is a former OU graduate with 2 degrees (at the sweet age of 23) and currently lives in Washington D.C. pursuing her Masters. Anyway, she started a non-profit organization called Women Empowering Nations (WEN) where she works with young girls in Gambia, West Africa and the government of Gambia in hopes of improving the education system for girls, through empowerment.

She also hosts workshops in D.C., OKC, Tulsa and wherever she is requested to speak... anyway I found out about the organization because we are friends on Facebook and decided that I wanted to join her team (of only a few women right now). The organization is fairly new, but I came to her with so many ideas on how to promote this organization, since I truly believe in it and somehow want to tie this to my major or career, after graduation.

On Jan. 18, 2010 we met at Panera Bread in Tulsa and discussed the organization and ideas that I had to contribute to promoting WEN and within an hour of that meeting, she decided to make me the public relations/communication intern :) where I will be responsible for soliciting schools, churches and community organization to bring a Women Empowering Nations Workshop to their girls/women. I will also contact media outlets to cover stories on Women Empowering Nations and promote the organization via social networking.

IT GETS EVEN BETTER ---> The 2nd annual Women Empowering Nations Literacy and Empowerment Program takes place May 29th through June 11th (this year) in Gambia, and I got invited TO GO! Which means all my travel expenses got waived and really the only thing I have to do is get a passport and pack my luggage! Wow, ladies --> this is big, yet I don't know how I feel about being in the air for almost 24 hours. :/ But while I am there, I will help assist with teaching the classes for the girls. So for now, I guess my life will revolve around women & gender studies and young girls, for this semester.

I will STILL use my journalism skills, even though I am not taking any J classes this semester. We shall see how things turn out. Until then, I will keep you posted on my internship and "online classes."

OH and I will officially be moving to Norman mid February, until then I will commute from Tulsa to Norman on the days that I have tests or special projects on campus.

Check out the site of my new team (www.WENations.org) (there is a video link of Carlisha's first trip to Gambia that inspired her to create WEN).

ERICA: Commuting from Tulsa to Norman

So, the drive back and forth from Tulsa to Norman is not sooo bad. In fact, I actually enjoy the drive --> it allows my mind to wander. I do tend to speed though. Typically I drive between 85-90 mph in a 75 mph zone... sooo no ticket yet (praying that I never get one). I found that driving at that rate of speed gets me to Oklahoma City in exactly 1 hour and once I hit city limits, it's smooth sailing. The only thing is, once I enter the city, I'm on the road for yet another 20-25 minutes.

I still feel far away from home every time I arrive in Norman. What strikes me the most is it seems as though the sun shines much brighter on this side of town. I still feel as though I made a really good choice to finish my last 2 years at OU. After all, this is the school I always desired to attend since 10th grade. I'm not so happy about commuting, but I have learned to adjust. It seems as though I am in and out all the time.

For this reason, I decided to drop all of my classes on campus and instead enroll in online classes. Boring, yes I know... but very convenient. I enrolled in all Women & Gender courses for the semester. Since this is my minor, I thought why not start with something different. That way, I can give myself a break from writing (can you believe that!) and find passion in learning the history of powerful women.

LAST WEEK - January 19, 2010
The Spring semester finally started at OU. So I logged into all 3 of my classes on the learn.ou.edu site and found welcome emails from both of my female professors :) I have 2 professors, one who teaches 2 of my classes and the other who teaches 1. Now girls, I know that this doesn't sound like the traditional FUN college experience, but wait until I tell you what else is on my plate for this year.

See next blog :)

DANA: Surviving OSU

My first week of classes, in a nutshell:

Monday: Wake up at 7 a.m. First class starts at 9:30 a.m., leave my dorm room at 9 a.m. Wonder around campus for 30+ minutes trying to find the journalism building. Finally ask someone if I am heading in the right direction. He points me toward the journalism building. Walk another 10 minutes and finally arrive, late, to my first class. Professor gives giant lecture about how much he hates lateness, glaring at me entire time.

Tuesday: Wake up at 7 a.m. for statistics class at 9 a.m. Leave dorm at 8 a.m. to avoid a repeat of yesterday morning and end up arriving to class 30 minutes early. Sit quietly waiting for class to start, trying not to fall asleep. Class begins and sleep wins the battle. Fade in and out of consciousness for the next hour and a half thinking all the while I gotta drop this class as soon as humanly possible. Next class at 10:30 a.m., Video Production Lab. Professor (the one who hates lateness) makes me be first student on camera. Confident, doing well, reading from the teleprompter... til whoever is operating the teleprompter has a seizure or something and I start making up my own lines and making wild hand gestures in an attempt to cover my confusion. Humiliation supreme. Go to Student Union to buy lunch, find every food place to be closed (WHY?). Get lost in Student Union and wonder around for 10 minutes before finally finding an exit. Trudge back to dorm room, sign onto my school account, and drop statistics.

Wednesday: Wake up at 7:30 a.m. and decide to take on-campus bus to journalism building to avoid lateness lecture. Wait patiently at bus stop. Bus pulls up and doors fling open, man with wild, greasy hair stares down from driver seat as "Dr. Feelgood" by Motley Crue blares over bus speakers. Tentatively climb onto bus to find it exploding with students and no where to stand. Shove my way toward back of the bus to grab onto a pole. Before finding a pole to grab, bus takes off with tires squeeling and I'm thrown into giant, smelly guy who stares down at me as if I'm a cockroach. Cling to pole for dear life as bus hurtles into traffic, trying to ignore defeaning rock music beating my eardrums. Classes end, decide to take bus back to dorm room, must be masochistic. Get on bus and ride for 10 minutes before realizing I have no idea where bus is going. Panic and pull stop cord, get off bus. Realize, as bus putters away, this was terrible idea. Walk half mile back to dorm room, collapse on bed and sleep.

Thursday: Wake up 8:30 a.m., bravely stand at bus stop once more. Bus pulls up, doors fly open, climb on and find a seat. It's a miracle. Class goes well. Take bus back to dorm room and manage to get off on right stop. Pack suitcase, throw it in truck, and begin drive back to Tulsa with the knowledge that I somehow survived my first week.