Live from camp: Grateful to be here

At least once a day, I find myself overwhelmed with gratitude that I am here. That’s not to say every moment has been bliss—there are challenges, without a doubt. But all in all, I cannot believe the opportunities we have here. I can’t believe the exceptional people I’ve met, the things I’ve learned and the fun I’ve had.

It’s dumbfounding to me that I have the chance to work with an array of professional journalists and 12 AMAZING fellow student journalists. Every person around me is extraordinarily gifted; some of them have taught me more than they realize. I don’t think it’s possible for this student group to be more diverse than it is, in terms of personality, socioeconomic status, race, life experiences, everything. It’s been an honor to spend time with them all. And I feel tremendously lucky to have been able to ask established journalists what it takes to gain a foothold in the industry, and how they ended up where they are. The wisdom and mentorship I’ve been able to access here has been astounding. It’s intensified the passion I already had for journalism and writing in general.

My writing skills have been stretched here, and for the first time, I’ve gotten multimedia training. I’m not exactly queen of the technology universe, so it’s been…interesting…to attempt to master the camera and camcorder. Videotaping an interview was not something I was used to, to say the least. But I’m glad to have that exposure and experience.

The most pleasant surprise in this program has been the amount of time devoted strictly to entertainment, which we’ve filled with bowling, a play, an improv show, games, chatting, eating, movies, shopping, etc. We might work hard, but we play hard too. The balance of learning and leisure at ThreeSixty has been just about perfect.

Now I’m off to go ambush random teenagers at the mall and interview them.

— Abby Grosse, ThreeSixty 2010