I don’t want to detract attention from my post below on the East Side Access, but here’s my latest story from my internship!
Valley Stream kids wins big with bookmarks
:3
Enjoy it! I’m also always looking for feedback.
writer [rahy-ter] : a person engaged in writing books, articles, stories, etc., especially as an occupation or profession; an author or journalist.
I don’t want to detract attention from my post below on the East Side Access, but here’s my latest story from my internship!
Valley Stream kids wins big with bookmarks
:3
Enjoy it! I’m also always looking for feedback.
The East Side Access Tunnel trip was incredibly fascinating and I learned so much. To reiterate, the East Side Access is a project connecting the LIRR to Grand Central Station. The LIRR only goes to Penn Station, which leaves many commuters with a long journey to work. Creating this project by adding three new tracks that will use the 63rd street tunnel, which was built in the late 60s and 70s and nicknamed the ‘tunnel to nowhere,’ even though it will be serving this project. The F train uses the two upper tracks of the tunnel, while the lower two tracks have been unused. They will be used by the East Side Access trains once this project is completed.
We first toured the Queens side, which is less complete. The Queens side is more complicated then the Manhattan side because they water table is only 10 feet below ground, which Manhattan is solid rock. They are working on finishing excavating the tunnels and then connecting them in the break section. We didn’t get a chance to see an actual tunnel boring machine (TBM) since our tour was running late. The TBM’s are apparently ginormous and its job is to excavate a circular cross-section. The excavation is then lined with gigantic concrete slabs, which serve as the basis of the tunnel. There’s about 2,400 workers and the project has been in progress for 10 years. Completion is not expected until 2019, mostly due to financial and budgeting problems. There has only been 1 death in
When we went to the Manhattan side, my best comparison is to an alien planet. It’s super dark and dusty, and completely muddy. The temporary lights only illuminate sections being worked on, and in every direction you can see the eerie glow of them, and some huge machine tearing through dirt, or drilling, or something else that needs to be done.
I’m currently working on a big project! I’m super excited and I have about three weeks to get it into a pitch. I’ve enlisted my tech-savvy and incredibly intelligent brother to help me and so far he likes my idea.
But that’s all I can say here.
Tomorrow is my trip to the East Side Access Tunnel, going to have to take a lot of mental notes.
AND SATURDAY I’M GOING SKYDIVING.
WOOHOO!
Yesterday when I left the office I grabbed two copies of the paper I work for. Lo and behold, there was my name printed in the byline on page 14.
I’ve always loved that feeling immensely. I’ll definitely share the article up on here when it is made available on the website.
I’m so excited, I enjoy being at this office and I enjoy the atmosphere.
This morning was fun because when I got in, my editor asked me to call the police department for another town. The editor of that paper wasn’t in just yet and he needed someone to get the basics of a car that crashed into a house.
It felt so natural. It’s definitely putting aside my anxieties as I get better accustomed to a newsroom setting. On to bigger and better things always! 🙂
My editor called me into his office today to talk about a little field trip I get to go on.
For years, the LIRR and MTA have been working on creating an East Side Access Tunnel. Lots of Long Island commuters work on the east side of NYC but have to go all the way to the west side of the city to Penn Station because there is no stop before then.
The East Side Access Tunnel will stop of course on the east side, and then I believe direct to Grand Central Station.
The LIRR/MTA have invited my paper to tour the tunnels in progress, which are not expected to be completed until 2019.
So on June 27th I get the opportunity to tour the tunnel. This is a privilege! Few people have ever gone down there besides the workers.
I’m truly blessed!
And on June 30th I’m going sky diving for the first time, but that is a present my sister and brother chipped in for. Spectacular.
I feel really comfortable here and am so grateful to have found this internship. Now back to work! 😛
Today I handed in my first article. It was a different experience than handing it into a professor or peer to edit, grade, and return.
I sat at my editor’s desk as he read out-loud my article. I couldn’t help but already nit-pick things that I could of changed, and small mistakes that I had made out of being nervous.
Despite my heart lodging itself in my throat the whole time, it wasn’t that bad of an experience. My professors always spoke of this experience. That there own articles would be pulled apart and marked up unbelievably. I had a couple of word-agreement mistakes, and needed to shift some information around but other than that the editor said my article was good.
What a relief!
So I survived my first newspaper editing experience. I have had plenty of articles edited, all of them have been, and a every article should, but this one was new.
I’m glad I didn’t cry!
Going into my internship today!
My first newspaper internship! I think I’m just working on my schedule with them today, but I’m prepared for anything.
So anxious and nervous!
This is it. This could be it.