“Leah Horner here, recipient of the Jerry Gillam scholarship this year. I wanted to share some updates in my life!
I just finished my internship on the east coast at WBOC in Salisbury, MD. It was everything I’d hoped it would be. I was able to go out with reporters every day for four days a week and report on anything from murders to fishing. I had the chance to sit in on a three day long court case about human trafficking, and I have to say it was a very educational three days. I can honestly say I find court fascinating and love covering cases. I also went to multiple crime scenes, which I found intense but exciting. There were a surprising amount of gun related murders this summer, and I was able to go to every crime scene. As hard as it was, I loved every minute of it.
There were, of course, happy days as well. I helped cover an event where professional surfers from around the world came to Ocean City to teach kids with autism how to surf. I loved this story so much that I decided to write and edit my own version of it! Here’s a link if you’re interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LReRFUxx75Q
I think they realized how much I love what I do because within just a few weeks, they were sending me out to shoot my own stories. I had to have a photographer with me for liability reasons, but I would get to put together my own stories that would air in their evening broadcasts. It was such an honor! By the end of my time, they had unofficially offered me a job. The managers would tell me if I dropped out of school and didn’t study abroad this fall, they’d hire me on the spot. It felt good to be so appreciated.
I obviously couldn’t do that, so they told me they look forward to hiring me when I’m done with school. I definitely could see myself moving to east coast to work at WBOC in a few years.
I’m currently in Brighton, England. I’ve only been here a few days, but it’s so different! I love it. I will be writing a study abroad column for my school, Cal Poly, while I am here. It’ll be nice to get more writing experience under my belt.
Everything is chaotic and busy but it’s worth it! I want to thank everyone at SPC one more time for awarding me with such a generous scholarship. I can’t express how much it has helped me, especially through an unpaid internship and an expensive semester abroad.”
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