Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal:

• Link for mentorship hours:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qD_IuKq4fdytsUbZSoFhNiTgexQDZq4fi720KhTaxW8/edit#gid=0

• Mentor:

Sarah Torribio, Claremont Courier (Reporter)

Interpretive:

What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

In mentoring at the Claremont Courier, I've learned to understand the journalistic aspect of my senior project which has allowed me to adapt as a writer. In the duration that were my nine months at the courier, I was able to experience the office life that is meeting deadlines, making phone calls, and following/getting accustomed to the specific format in which a newspaper article is crafted. In accordance to all of that, the most important thing that I've gained from my time there is that a final piece can be edited more than once. This I cannot emphasize enough because it has taught me that there is no perfect craft to the art of compiling your extensive research and shaping it into an informational story for the public. No matter skilled a writer may be, there is always room for improvement. 

Applied:
How has what you've done helped you to answer your EQ?  Please explain.

My EQ is: What two techniques from journalism and fiction writing can best be combined in creative nonfiction. Within the time frame that was my mentorship, I learned how to structure articles and craft sentences that were both informational and entertaining. This ultimately helped shaped my first answer which is: The journalistic aspect of extensive research and the art of storytelling can best be combined in creative nonfiction. These are key elements in the genre because both fact and connection are crucial to the foundation of the craft. I've practiced going beyond my comfort zone to obtain information, scoured the web for the basis of my article and set my sites on the printed publications that held within their pages the knowledge I so desired. I spent months jotting down notes, revising the highlighted sections of my paper and came to accept the red comments returned along with my final draft. I've also engaged in many conversations regarding the prominence in creating a voice that was resonate with the reader and studied the works of other reporters to get an idea of what my format should resemble. Interning at the courier has showed me how to edit myself, to keep an open mind when hovering over the "print" button, and that immersion is another way of comprehending the mindset and surroundings of a subject.

*Please do not turn in your mentorship hours to the office.  After we collect the total list from all seniors, we will turn in one piece of paper with all hours for everybody.  It is counted as 50 hours of the 200 you need in order to graduate from I-Poly.  The 10 hours in the summer have already been added to your community service total.