Reynolds Institute wraps up, leaves lasting impression

First, I’m sorry this has taken so very long to write, but I just couldn’t bring myself to penning the final recap of the amazing experience that was the American Society of News Editors Reynolds High School Journalism Institute at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada in Reno.

See, writing this means it is truly over, and though it ended July 23, I have spent the last days in denial trying to convince myself it was all wrapped up.

Alas, it is. And so this post must be written, regardless of how much I don’t want to.

Before I get into the sentimental part of this post, let me recap what we did the last three days.

July 21 first was split into two parts. The second half was work on our projects, which are hosted at SilverBulletin.org. The first half, though, had us touring the Reno Gazette-Journal. It was cool. Here are some pictures:

This is a painting created by one of the Gazette-Journal’s designers. It is about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It was relatively famous. See the next photo to try and read more about it.

This is possibly my favorite picture I shot while at the Gazette-Journal.

Like I said, after the tour, we got to work on our stories because everything had to be done by July 22. Even so, we managed to break away and eat some delicious Japanese food. They cooked it right in front of us.

Here are some pictures:

July 22 was a rushed day for me. I had to get my multimedia project done by 6 p.m. and I hadn’t started it because I was going to document a teacher’s first tattoo. I got it done, though.

First, here is the video, followed by pictures of the process.

Before I got to work on my project, though, we heard from the editor of the Reno News & Review, D. Brian Burghart. He was passionate and inspiring. I loved his presentation. It got me fired up.

Then, to celebrate being finished, we went to a karaoke bar. We all had a blast singing and dancing.

July 23 was the final day. We met for one last time and had a closing ceremony in the Great Room at the University of Nevada, Reno.

It had a spectacular view:

There, Frank X. Mullen of the Gazette-Journal spoke to us. He is an investigative reporter for the paper.

He was an engaging speaker, but he eventually finished, which was sad because it meant the end.

I didn’t cry, but I felt I was close to it. All the people of the group were great, and although we were only together for two short weeks, I feel really close to them. It was hard to say goodbye.

Being a part of the Reynolds High School Journalism Institute was an amazing experience. It touched me deep inside and gave me confidence in becoming a journalism teacher, which is pretty darn handy considering classes start Aug. 19.

I will be forever grateful to the program and hope to always keep in touch with those I became friends with.

Hopefully someday soon I will get to see them all again.

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