Each report serves the purpose of tracking my progress made throughout my ISM journey and is a brief summary and reflection of each week.
week 1: a whole new world
A Whole New World Weekly Report 8/21 to 8/25 This past week, I have been introduced to a whole new world: the world of ISM. The classroom environment is so foreign to me in that everyone is so passionate, driven, and supportive, and it has only been one week. During this one week, I have learned a number of things from my peers as well as a guest speaker, such as how to write in a more powerful and professional manner and how to discover my passion. With those teachings in mind I accomplished formulating my mission statement, finding a guiding quote, and filling out a Topic of Study Selection form to kickstart my ISM journey. Thus far, I do not have any questions in regard to this past week or the week to come, but if any do come up I will not hesitate to confide in the ISM II students or Mr. Speice for help. I found that when I struggled with putting my mission statement into words, constructive criticism from the ISM II students was extremely beneficial in guiding me in the right direction. For the upcoming week, I plan on being more productive in class and using my time efficiently, especially to continue working on my introductory speech. Additionally, I feel as if I still have much to discover about my topic of study, so this week I also want to research more about specialized areas in news reporting and maybe even research a little into broadcast journalism.
WEEK 2: Reflection and research
Reflection and Research Weekly Report 8/21/17 to 8/27/17 Over the course of this past week, I started to become more accustomed to the quickly-approaching deadlines and self-guided nature of the class. Before submitting the first dead of the week, Weekly Report 1, I looked to former ISM students from different schools for critique, and I learned to always ask questions and to always have something inquisitive to say. After submission and reaching that deadline, the feedback the class received as a whole was to be more insightful; therefore, my personal goal for this week was to be more introspective. Lessons like this will allow me to struggle and grow, which will result in my ISM journey being that much more beneficial. Later in the week we had introductory speeches, which was where I struggled most. Personally, it was challenging to find a way to present myself and my passion in way that would be captivating and interesting. I looked back to my ISM application for inspiration and worked in an anecdote into my speech. Once finalizing the content of my introductory speech, I struggled with timing because I bullet-pointed the content I wanted to cover rather than word-for-word typing out the speech, which is what I normally do. I decided to switch up my typical style because I wanted to sound more natural rather than over rehearsed. From this experience, I learned that I should go beyond bullet points but not too in depth, so for the next speech I plan on preparing outline style note-cards. For the upcoming week, I want minimize procrastination, so that I have assignments done ahead of time with enough time to get feedback before submitting. Also, I need to continue to search for suitable color schemes and graphic elements for my website and branding, so I am going to look into color theory. It is important that my website and branding, from fonts to content, is reflective of me and my ISM mission.
Week 3: THe highs and the lows
The Highs and the Lows Weekly Report 9/4/17 to 9/10/17
This past week, I got to dive into my individual ISM journey by drafting an assessment, a contact list, and a website. This first assessment was probably the greatest obstacle I have encountered during my ISM journey thus far. I struggled with finding sources that were not only credible, but also were insightful and presented valuable information about the career outlook for news reporters. I was able to overcome this by utilizing the resources that Mrs. Lambert put together on the MackinVIA group, and I also found her in-class instruction to be very helpful. Not only will that short lesson be beneficial for future assessments but also for research conducted in other academic settings. Furthermore, I found the assessment to be challenging in that it was discouraging at first glance with the decreasing job market for reporters. However, the articles did present alternatives that gave me an overall hopeful outlook. Although I did face and overcome adversity this past week, I know there will more to come and more to learn and grow from. In continuation, I found that creating a contact and correspondence list was thrilling in that it felt like the first step into the mentorship part of my ISM journey. I started finding contacts via Google, which became redundant when I started asking myself “ How many different ways can I search ‘news reporters north texas’?”. As a result, I reached out to classmates and teachers to see if they had any professionals in mind. I felt as if it was more beneficial for me to reach out to people I knew to ask if they knew any professionals in news reporting, or similar fields, because it forced me to practice networking in person and having that professionalism. Lastly, setting up my own website was the most enjoyable assignment of the week in that I was able to put my strengths to use. I am naturally a design oriented individual, so starting my website was a lot of fun and almost like a stress relieving assignment for me. I love to put together and publish products because I find it satisfying to see the final outcome of all the elements of colors, fonts and design. For the upcoming week, I plan on spending more time researching for the upcoming assessment and getting critique on it before submission. Additionally, I want to expand my contact list by also considering contacting professionals that are closely related to the field of news reporting.
WEEK 4: different direction
Different Direction Weekly Report 9/11/17 to 9/17/17
Over the course of the past week, I was able to reflect on my topic of study and redirect my ISM journey. After my first research assessment, I was inclined to research contemporary outlets for news reporting for my second research assessment. I read articles on the changes in news reporting, which led me to really think deeper. I thought what aspects of reporting I really loved, such as storytelling, and combined it with some of my other talents, such as design. With this is mind, I began to look more towards the field of editing and publication. I feel as if this similar area of work is better suited for me in that it encompasses a number of my passions. In continuation, I learned about professionalism this week by working on my resume. By looking at example resumes and talking to my peers I found that professionalism is subjective to an extent. Each profession has their own boundaries and guideline to adhere by. Therefore, I had more freedom to incorporate more color and elements of design to my own resume because I am studying a more creativity based field. Lastly, this week I did face a downfall in that I did not complete my handshake assignment. To make up for it, I do ten introductions instead of five. I have to force myself to get past that awkwardness of approaching someone and learn how to put myself out there. Moving forward, I plan to get in touch with some editors to get a feel for the field before reaching out to any potential mentors. Additionally, I want to finish up my resume and get some feedback from my peers on its appearance. It is crucial that my resume, mannerisms, and self-introduction are fine-tuned for the upcoming business symposium.
WEEK 5: practice makes (almost) perfect
Practice Makes (almost) Perfect Weekly Report 9/18/17 to 9/24/17
This week consisted of calls, calls, and more calls. From rehearsing cold calls with ISM II students, I learned that practice is crucial to sounding professional and being taken seriously. Also, I found that although practice is immensely helpful, there will be situations that I will not be prepared for. In these cases, I just need to remain calm and collective and be adaptive. In general, I do see myself as a flexible individual, so hopefully that will play to my advantage if unexpected scenarios do come up during calls. Furthermore, I was able to apply this to a real world instance with putting together forthcoming plans, which involved a lot of phone calls on my part. The first place I called for reservations continuously sent me to voicemail, so in hopes of getting a call back from them I finally got around to setting up a proper voicemail greeting. However I never got a call back, so I began calling other restaurants. This is where I saw the importance of communication and being accommodating on both sides. Moving forward with my ISM journey, I will continue practicing cold calling because I still need to make the given script my own and get comfortable with it. Additionally, I want to fill out my planner with all upcoming events, inside and outside of school, so that I have a visual in front of me to keep me organized while making calls and potentially setting up interviews. For this upcoming week, I plan on brainstorming in depth for original work ideas. In order to accomplish this, I want to cold call professionals and hopefully set up an interview. I feel like conversing with professionals will not only help with networking, but will be helpful in finding original work inspiration.
WEEK 6: there's a first time for everything
There’s a First Time for Everything Weekly Report 9/25/17 to 10/1/17
Over the course of this past week, I learned the importance of critique and putting myself out there in order to be proactive and take charge of my own ISM journey. I started the week off by receiving constructive criticism on my resume in order to prepare it for its final submission. I was given suggestions on how to better utilize the single page by moving around design elements and having less negative space. As a result, I was able to add more valuable information onto my resume while maintaining a clean, organized look. From this small group activity, I learned the value of giving and getting feedback from people who are seeing my work with a fresh set of eyes and a point of view that may differ from my own perspective. Additionally, I made it a personal goal of mine to give cold calling a try this week and to schedule an interview. My first attempt was not even a valid number, so I continued to go through my contact list. With the next two calls I made, I got sent to voicemail. I found that leaving voicemails went a lot smoother for me than I expected because I did not stumble over my words and left short, sweet, and to-the-point messages. However, getting sent to voicemail was not going to be beneficial for setting up interviews, so I continued dialing numbers. The last call I made was directly with the professional I intended on interviewing. After a brief introduction, I had gotten my first interview. I was pleasantly surprised because I did not think I would get an interview my first day of cold calling. Reaching this milestone ended my week on a high note and gave me excitement for the week to come. Moving forward with my ISM journey, I plan to expand my contact list; that one session of cold calling made me realize how quickly you can get through that list and how many phone calls go into setting up an interview. Additionally, I have some slight tweaking to do before printing my resume. When I reviewed it after submission, I noticed some of the alignment was off. For this upcoming week I want to focus my energy on preparing for my first interview and the business symposium.
WEEK 7: real world application
Real World Application Weekly Report 10/2/17 to 10/8/17 This past week, I was able to further my ISM journey outside of the classroom via interviews and networking at Business Symposium. My week began with my very first interview, and I interviewed Christine Perrenot, the editor of Frisco STYLE Magazine. The interview went fairly well; however, I struggled with transitioning from question to question. Although I need to work on transitions, I received positive feedback on the quality of my questions. Also, I received positive feedback on my resume, but I was advised to edit some of the alignment. I took the critique and made edits to my resume in order to have it prepared for business symposium. Next came business symposium, where I really saw ISM in full effect. Although I did not meet anyone in a field similar to mine, I feel like I still got a lot out of the experience. My group started off with interviews, which was my favorite part of the event because I had good conversations and got to meet great people. The interviews naturally flowed like everyday conversation and were easy going. I got good practice with answering questions and having prepared experiences to expand upon. I also had questions to ask at the end of the interview, but there was one question I did not think of asking until the session was over: “Do you know anyone in the same field that I am studying?” Asking this question could have connected me to more professionals and expanded my contact list, which was one of my goals from the previous week. In continuation, the most beneficial session for my individual ISM journey was networking with other ISM students. During this session I met a student whose father is a journalist and even had his own television show. Even though the student mentioned her father was out of town for the next few months, I got his contact information because he most likely knows other journalists in the area. This was the most exciting part of the day because it felt like a step forward. For this upcoming week, I plan on making more cold calls in order to set up more interviews. Additionally, I want to take what I gained from business symposium and use it to my advantage by contacting the journalist and networking with him and hopefully some of his colleagues as well.
WEEK 8: keeping up with the content
Keeping Up with the Content Weekly Report 10/9/17 to 10/15/17 Over the course of this past week, I was able to catch up on little assignments and organization. The week was a shortened one, so it was more easy-going compared to most weeks this year. I spent a class period taking care of of the small, but important, tasks like filling out my contact log and writing a “Thank You” note. While doing these tasks, I understood the importance of being on-top assignments like these because they do add up. Furthermore, I waited far too long to fill out my log and send out a “Thank You” note, which made it more difficult to recall information and make the note more personalized. From this, I learned to be quick and consistent with filling out my log, and I need to be more organized. Additionally, I utilized class time to work on my Topic Proposal and my first Interview Assessment. I found both of these assignments to be enjoyable because I was able to easily put my thoughts into words. First off, the Topic Proposal was something that I wanted to put extra time and effort into because I find it important to be able to answer and explain the “Why?” question. I wanted it to display my passion and motivation. Secondly, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of my interview assessment because typically I dread writing assessments. However, once I began writing, I was able to really go in depth and break down what I got out of my interview. Normally, I struggle with commentary for my research assessments, but with this first interview assessment, I feel as if I really benefited from formulating analysis. I was able to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses and plan how to grow from them. Moving forward with my ISM journey, I will stay on top of the tedious tasks of filling out forms and logs in a timely manner. Also, I want to add three to five more professionals to my contact list, so I can cold call and schedule my second interview. Lastly, I plan on adding content, such as pictures, to my website to keep it up to date.
WEEK 9: work in progress
Work in Progress Weekly Report 10/16/17 to 10/22/17 This past week, I utilized class time to research for original work inspiration. However, I personally wanted to conduct research through interviews with professionals, so I would be able to see the direct needs of the field. First off, I had a basic idea after my first interview for my original work, but I wanted to continue to brainstorm to produce something unique. Originally, I thought of creating a forum where editors could all critique each other’s work because my first interviewee emphasized the significance of feedback and criticism in journalism. However, I quickly realized that this could lead to leaking of stories and unoriginality across the board. I struggled greatly with what even to research at this point in order to further my progress with original work ideas, so I turned to my yearbook advisor for some assistance. We spent twenty minutes just bouncing ideas off one and other, but each time I was able to poke holes in the ideas. During this “thinking session” there was mention of publishing a magazine that would be a “how-to” guide. Although that idea has potential, I am keeping it on the backburner because it was not something that excited me. In continuation, I looked to my mission statement, where I found a central theme that I want to develop my original work around: reliability. I want to produce something where consumers can easily access this product to make sure their information sources are reliable. I plan on doing this my conducting interviews with professionals to see what local media outlets use for fact-checking. Furthermore, I spend a minimum of fifteen minutes each class cold-calling, but all week I got sent to voicemail. I plan on trying to call new contacts next week and follow up with the ones I left voicemails for. I want to be persistent with cold calling for two reasons. One being, it was one of my SMART goals to schedule a second interview before the end of the month, and secondly because it is a key part of moving forward with my original work. For this upcoming week, I want to continue expanding original work ideas, but I also need to focus on “housekeeping”, which includes updating my website and contact list. Additionally, I want to begin branding and networking on social media, specifically LinkedIn, in order to take my work beyond the classroom.
WEEK 10: where d-reams come true
Where D reams Come True Weekly Report 10/23/17 to 10/29/17 Over the course of the past week, I was able to achieve one of my SMART goals of setting up my second interview. This interview lead to opportunities that I had not expected so early on in my ISM journey. The week got off to a rough start in that I was constantly being sent to voicemail. I made it priority to step out for at least fifteen minutes each class and makes cold calls because I had not had an interview in a while. I felt as if I was falling behind, which was very discouraging. However, I continued to make calls and leave voicemails. After yet another day of no answers or call backs, I headed back to class frustrated. At the very moment I took a seat, my phone started ringing, and I finally got a call back. I set up an interview with Alex Macon, the online editor for D Magazine. This was amazing news for a number of reasons: it completely altered my mood and this was a company I was already interested in working with. This interview became my “light at the end of the tunnel” of my week, and I prepared for it by reviewing my interview questions. The day of the interview, I was beyond ecstatic to be in a real life magazine office. I became that “starry-eyed high schooler” as Mr. Macon would say. The interview went smoothly, and I even got to take an office tour at the end. During the office tour, I was able to speak with some other employees at the magazine, which showed me all the moving parts that go into publishing each issue. Mr. Macon highly recommended that I apply for their upcoming spring internship program, which is something I have always wanted to do. I know between rigorous courses and extracurricular activities I would not be able to fully devote myself to the internship, but I still plan on reaching out to see if the offer still holds for a summer internship. Lastly, something that stuck with me, and will most likely stick with me through everything I will do, is the words Mr. Macon left me with. He said, “Stick to what you're doing, and please do become a journalist. We need more people like you.” These simple words of affirmation made me believe in myself and my abilities. Going into the city, into a bigger magazine, was exciting and intimidating all at the same time, but these words were self-assuring. Overall, the welcoming, motivating environment of D Magazine is somewhere that I can see myself being involved. Moving forward with my ISM journey, I plan to keep in touch with Mr. Macon. Additionally, I want to utilize this upcoming week to update my contact log and stay on top of Thank You notes.
WEEK 11: fixer upper
Fixer Upper Weekly Report 10/30/17 to 11/05/17 This past week, I caught up on the little things as well as prepared for some milestones as well. I began the week by preparing for my research speech and concluded it with follow up assignments. First, I started preparing for my research speech by looking back to my introduction speech. I revised it by shortening it, and looked for ways to have a more attention grabbing hook. On critique that I got from my first speech was to make it more engaging with a stronger lead, so I focused on that by researching good speech starters. Next, I looked through my assessments to recall specific information from my research. From this I learned that I need to write my assessments with more purpose because the research topic were kind of all over the place. Overall, this makes it more difficult to group them into overarching topics. In continuation, last speech, I struggled with my notecards. In order to better prepare for my research speech, I typed out my speech instead, and then made note cards based off of what I fully typed out. This ensures that I know exactly what points I want to hit and cover. I also practiced in front of an audience, my siblings, and the mirror to try to work on my eye contact skills. I feel as if this speech is an opportunity to fix and better my weakness from the first time around. Lastly, the Internet was down one class period, so that left me with very limited things to work on during class. However, I still had to write thank you notes for business symposium, so I spent some time making sure I took care of that. Moving forward, I plan to schedule a conference to discuss my plans for my original work, and I want to keep my portfolio, as well as my digital portfolio, up to date.
WEEK 12: reflect and re-do
Reflect and Re-Do Weekly Report 11/06/17 to 11/12/17 Over the course of this past week, I have done continued to develop my original work idea, but I feel as if I need some critique. Additionally, I feel as if I have a lot of catching up to do. First, I have a rough sketch what I want my original work to encompass. I have organized what I already have from my research and what additional information I will need to produce this work. Most of my research is done through assessments, but I have found that I get more quality information through interviews. However, I have only had two interviews, which is why I feel like I am falling behind. Moving forward, I need to line up at least two interviews this coming week for the purpose of research, but also for the purpose of finding a mentor. Something that I have found myself struggling with is introducing the idea of a mentorship during interviews. Most of the time, I end up getting research but do not make any progress with the whole mentorship process. In order to resolve this, I plan to request a conference with Mr. Speice and get advice on how to bring up and discuss the topic during an interview. I need to find a way to make the interviews more like a conversation rather than a rigid interview. Lastly, I want to begin utilizing class time to work on ISM. Typically, I work on other classes’ work during the period, but I feel like I would be more efficient if I worked in class rather than solely outside of class.
WEEK 13: one step backward, another step forward
One Step Backward, Another Step Forward Weekly Report 11/27/17 to 12/03/17 This past week, I set and reached the objective of lining up interviews as well as working on my original work. I was able to schedule two interviews, and I am back to brainstorming for my original work. I was highly discouraged with my progress in terms of finding a mentor, especially with the semester coming to an end. I spent consecutive class periods cold calling editors from the area as well as professionals further away in order to expand my contact list. I was able to set a phone interview with a journalism professor at University of Texas at Austin, which will be greatly beneficial for research purposes. Because he is a professor and not an editor, I plan on creating a unique set of questions for that specific interviews. In continuation, I scheduled another phone interview with the editor of Dallas Morning News, and I hope that this interview will lead to a mentorship. In order to prepare for this interview, there are a number of tasks I need to complete. First, I want to conference with Mr. Speice to discuss how to make more out of my interviews and introducing the idea of a mentorship and the program. Second, I want to come up with interview questions that pertain more specifically to me and the professional in their workplace. Overall, I want to focus on coming up with questions that reach a deeper level and result in an interview that will further my ISM journey. Additionally, I am redirecting my original work from a fact-checking pamphlet to publishing my own magazine. This is another topic that I plan to discuss with Mr. Speice about during a conference. It is crucial that I begin on physically creating my original work and all the assignments that go with it, like the log, so that I do not fall behind. Moving forward with my ISM journey, I need to be more proactive. For this upcoming week, I will start my log and developing designs for my original work magazine. Lastly, I will put a lot of effort into preparing for my upcoming interviews because I want to be able to have interviews that lead to something more like a mentorship.
WEEK 14: major milestones being met
Major Milestones Being Met Weekly Report 12/04/17 to 12/10/17 Over the course of the past week, I was able to reach major milestones in that I have a mentor and have physically began working on my original work product. First off, I had a phone interview with the Editor-in-Chief of Dallas Morning News, Mike Wilson, and the conversation felt very natural. He was thorough with responses to my questions, it was more of a conversation than a structured interview. Unlike interviews in the past, I was able to include myself and my work more into the conversation and was more comfortable doing so. Additionally, he briefly touched on the topic of what mentor visits would look like, and I feel as if I will benefit greatly from this specific mentorship because of all the networking and interaction I will have with the rest of the staff as well. Moving forward, I want to create a list of research and experience that I specifically want to gain from mentor visits. Before doing that, I need to finish up the process of solidifying the mentorship through Google forms and Mr. Speice. Secondly, I met with Mr. Speice later in the week to discuss my original work plan. Since I changed my proposal, I have a lot of catching up to do. I am extremely stressed and nervous about the entire publishing process of a magazine, so I need to conduct research about publishers and their requirements. Also, I need to fill out my original work log to track my progress, and it is crucial that I stay organized and on top of things to minimize my stress and maximize my efficiency.
WEEK 15: hit the ground running
Hit the Ground Running Weekly Report 12/11/17 to 1/2/18 Prior to winter break, I was able to finish out conducting interviews and formally securing a mentor for my ISM journey. Although the past few weeks have been spent to unwinding from all of my school related responsibilities, I dedicated a few hours here and there to develop my original work and prepare for research showcase. I began this eventful week by completing a phone interview with a journalism professor at University of Texas at Austin, Rosental Alves. This was by far the most captivating interview of my ISM journey because he shared stories about his life as a young journalist living under a military dictatorship in Brazil. Additionally, I got to hear about a number of travel experiences as well as accomplishments like founding the Knight Foundation, which provides journalists in Latin America with online courses. Additionally, Professor Alves provided insight to rising relevant areas of journalism, such as data journalism and videography, as well as some words of wisdom and encouragement. From this interview I gained beneficial information as to what topics I need to be researching and keeping up with, and I plan to become to more in touch with the technological side of journalism. Moving forward, I plan to keep in touch with Professor Alves because he is a great contact to have and someone I can look up to. Secondly, the paperwork and forms to validate my mentorship for the year have been approved, and I am beyond ecstatic to get to work with Mr. Wilson. Over the break, we were able to set a date for my first mentor visit, which is scheduled a week before research showcase. Therefore, I plan to go into the mentor visit ready to share parts of my magazine proposal with Mr. Wilson in order to get critique before the presentation. In the days leading up to my mentor visit, I will fill out the travel request form and plan to meet with Mr. Speice or an ISM II student to over expectations for a first mentor visit. In continuation, since I have made a lot of changes to my original work plans I need to re-do key assignments, such as my original work proposal and log, which is crucial for me to wrap up within the following few days. Check point assignments, such as the contact log and original work log, are something that I have struggled with, so I plan on setting reminders so that I am constantly updating each form. For the week to come, I plan to hit the ground running to prepare for research showcase. I plan to do this by distributing my invitations within the next few days, updating my digital and physical portfolio over the weekend, and putting together my board over the course of the next week.
WEEK 16: bringing it to life
Bringing it to Life Weekly Report 1/3/18 to 1/7/18 This past week consisted over very little class time, due to a shortened week, so most of my work was completed outside of school. I focused my time and time energy on preparing for research showcase. To start off, I created a guest list and began distributing invitations to the research showcase. The whole process of designing the invitation, ordering it for print, and distributing taught me that need to be more cautious about timing tasks out and be prepared for mishappens, such as late deliveries. Also, handing out invitations made me really think about my audience and why it was important to have that specific group of people at the research showcase. In continuation, I further progressed on my presentation my beginning my display board. This was challenging for my because I had to figure out not only was statements and pictures would represent my topic, but also how to carry that through design and layout. Although it took more planning than anticipated, I enjoyed creating my display board because it brought my research and work to life. Moving forward with my ISM journey I need to prioritize keeping my digital portfolio updated because I often forget to do so. Additionally, I plan to create some practice pages on InDesign to show to my mentor during a visit this week and gain feedback on my original work. Lastly, from my mentor visit this week, it is critical that I get the information I need to complete my mentor’s biography as well as a picture to accompany it.