I still can't believe that my segment, my voice, is on NPR radio stations across Florida and in podcast apps around the world. It is still surreal to me. The picture for this week's blog is not me listening to my segment for the first time, as when I did listen it to the first time, I was so in the moment, that I did not think of anything else but what I was saying and everything that it took to get to that moment. The picture illustrates me listening to my segment for probably the tenth time now, and I am certain that number will continue to rise, as I love hearing it and more importantly, I am so proud of what I was able to produce. Let's take a few steps back in the week before the segment was ultimately published.
This week's blog won't be as lengthy as the other blogs in previous weeks because at this point I have done everything and more of what was expected of me, and I was just waiting for the product to be published. However, that does not mean that this week's blog is not as important-----on the contrary, this week's blog is built upon what I have been doing for the past 11 weeks, the ultimate "culmination" moment, as I have been referring to several times during this Act III of the internship. On Monday, I emailed Dr. Mormino----first time since the day we recorded the interview---as a follow-up gesture. In the email, I notified him of my progress and that the segment should be published sometime during the end of the week, and when it does, I'll send him another email with the link to it so he can check it out for himself. That same day, I also emailed Holly to ask her if Jon, Dr. Brotemarkle, and herself received the email I sent that past Friday containing everything that is needed for them to published the segment, as up to that point, I had not received any reply confirming that they did receive the materials. Also in that email, I sent Holly a link to this very own website, since I told her that day I went to do my narration that she makes regular appearances throughout these blogs, and I think it would be wholesome for her to read. The following day she replied, confirming that everyone did receive my email and that my segment will begin airing on NPR stations in Florida this Friday (today). About an hour later, I received a separate email from Jon, thanking me for providing all the materials in an organized matter, and that he was going to being editing my segment that day, emailing me back if he has any questions or whenever the segment is complete. That's where things stood on Tuesday. No further updates until Thursday---and it was a big one.
On Thursday, at 10:54 am, Jon emailed me saying that the radio show has been completed and uploaded to the website, providing me the link to it where I can hear my segment in the context of the rest of the show. He further congratulated me on the segment, stating that he only had to do minor fixes, as everything else turn out well. I was in class when I received this email, and unfortunately had to wait until I got back to my place to hear my segment. Once I did, I listened to the segment, and I was in awe. I was in awe of hearing my voice on the show and my product. I was also in awe of how amazing the final edit came out to be. There were two edits (that Jon also referred to in the email) that were challenging, and Jon did such a great job at fixing it, that it is not noticeable at all. I emailed Jon back after I listened to the segment, thanking him for notifying me when the segment was published and also for his amazing editing skills. I also told him that I was glad my own editing efforts helped him make the process more efficient, as I put a lot of hard work into achieving that end as much as possible, so I am glad it paid off. That same day, Holly emailed me a link to a Facebook post that the FHS posted in honor of National Intern Day (which I didn't even know was a thing). I was not expecting that, and when I read the post, I felt so appreciated and I emailed Holly back saying that the feeling is mutual. As I have told her and the others at FHS, I am and will always be grateful for this experience I had, and would not want it to be with any other team. In that email response, I also provided Holly with a link to register for the "End-of-Semester Internship Showcase" as its only fitting------she's been with me every step of the way throughout the internship, so I want her to be part of the finale in real time. Also, in that response I asked Holly when the segment will be officially aired on radio stations across Florida, as I wanted to share that information with my family and friends who are all over Florida.
Jon emailed me again later again at the end of day Thursday (in response to my thank you reply to him). In that email he kindly shared with me that Holly and him talked during the day about the possibility of me producing more content for Florida Frontiers (which I myself have talked to Holly about several times), hoping that I could, since "new content is always desired", as he said. Hearing that this feeling of me continuing is not just with Holly, but now also with Jon, makes me feel so appreciated, but also makes me highly motivated to accept the gracious offer and keep producing the best historical content possible. I am hoping this can be finalized some time soon, ultimately achieving my goal of not seeing this internship as a finite experience, rather a stepping stone to something better and more permanent with the FHS.
Holly never answered my email of the official times when Florida Frontiers airs on radio stations across Florida, but luckily I remembered her telling me that they have a graphic posted on their website as to the areas in Florida that air the show, and their respective stations and time. Thus, I found out today that I missed the Thursday airing of the show, as it was at 6:30 pm (which would've been a cooler blog picture for this week----listening to my segment in my car on the radio for the first time), but luckily they air the show (with my segment) again this Sunday at 4 pm. So for anyone in the broader Orlando area, tune in on Sunday at 4 pm, on 90.7 WMFE FM radio station to check out this week's Florida Frontiers episode that includes my segment! My segment is the final one of the show, so make sure to wait to the end. That shouldn't be a problem, as the segments before mine are also highly entertaining and enjoyable to listen. I will be tuning in myself, as I wanted to hear my segment on the radio as well. Down below is a link to the graphic (which is a bit blurry, but one can still decipher the dates and times) for anyone else that lives in other areas in Florida, and would like to tune in.
If none of the times above or in the graphic work for you, luckily the show is published on their website that can be listened anywhere and at any time! It is also published on Apple Podcasts for portable listening! Search for "Florida Frontiers" on Apple Podcasts, and it will come up. My segment is part of "Program 476", which should not be hard to find, as it is the latest one. The link down below will take you directly the Florida Frontiers website where you can listen to episode and my segment and see the finished product of 11 weeks for yourself!
Next week will be the final week of the internship. Remaining tasks are writing the reflection paper and sending it to Holly, sending Holly the final evaluation form and turning that in, and preparing for the internship showcase which will be August 5th at 10 am. I would say that this is a sad feeling that it is coming to a close, but I never saw the end of the internship as the end of the road of the broader experience of pursing this passion. Fingers crossed that I am able to continue to produce content for Florida Frontiers, because like I mentioned all the way back in week 1, I love history, and I want to express and share that love and passion in all forms possible----and historical podcasts is most definitely one of those forms. As always, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the segment I produced!
SG