After roughly 112 days, 3 and a half months, and 23 emails, this week on June 1st (Wednesday), I finally got the meet Holly, albeit virtual. I added the amount of time purely for dramatic sake, not to make it seem like I have been waiting that long to meet with her because I was not. In fact, up until the past 3 weeks (so roughly 21 days) this internship was not even "official". Nonetheless, Holly first reached out to me on February 17th via email after I spoke with Dr. Brotemarkle days prior, and that is when my internship unofficially "officially" started.
My Zoom meeting with Holly was this past Wednesday, on June 1st. It started at 2 pm and last about an hour. Holly was so so SO welcoming and nice to me, that I was stunned. Usually, I am the one that talks too much (as you can tell) during meetings, but Holly outdid me during our meeting, and for the better! She answered most of my questions in the first 15 minutes of her talking and introducing herself and the internship to me. She clarified some of things I was not sure of, for example, I wasn't sure that my voice was going to be part of the podcast, but it will be (which is so cool, I am beyond excited!). She clarified that I am only doing one segment, as opposed to all three segments that comprise of one entire episode of Florida Frontiers. She further elaborated on that point, stating that one segment is about 7-9 minutes, with 4 to 5 of those minutes being the best soundbites of the interview (as she said the "gold nuggets"), and the remaining 2 to 3 minutes being my narration (which she said serves to connect the story for the listener). She gave me genuine advice on how to do this, since she's been doing it now for 5+ years. Some of that advice included how to write and ask the proper questions, how to write the transcript, and how to sound professional, but also conversational. Some of that advice even spilled over to general career advice----being confident with myself and my decisions of pursing this history profession-----which I truly appreciated. Around the 30 minute mark of our meeting, it shifted more to the specific topic that I will be doing, which will be immigration in Florida. Holly told me that this does not have to be final, even after I scour through all the material, I can switch and she will gladly assist. However, after the meeting ended I feel confident and ready to take on this story. Holly referenced me to Gary R. Mormino, who she has even interviewed in the past, as a person I might be interested to interview for this topic. He has published several books about immigration in Florida (Land of Sunshine, State of Dreams and The Immigrant World of Ybor City). Holly was kind enough to let me know that I can borrow his books-----as the Florida Historical Society has them in-house. Holly had mentioned earlier (when talking about narration) that they have a podcast booth with all the equipment available to do narration, and after hearing that and that they have material that I can potentially use for this topic (the books), I put myself out there and told Holly that when that time comes I am willing to go in-person and make that drive all the way to Cocoa. She was eager to hear that, and from there we set up a date for next week where I will be visiting the Florida Historical Society HQ in Cocoa, FL (which will be Wednesday at 11 am). The meeting wrapped up with us confirming the in-person visit and with me telling Holly how much I appreciated her clarification, kindness, and advice that she gave throughout the meeting. She told me that she's excited for what I will produce and to be part of their team as she said she can see how much I genuinely care about this profession and this new way of telling history via podcasts.
Before I end this blog, I just want to use this space to pay my respects to my high school AP Capstone Research and AP literature teacher, Ms. Rosa, who passed away this week. I attribute my passion and desire to be better at writing and research to her. She was an absolute phenomenal teacher, that was always there for her students, no matter what the circumstance, and the passion she had for her career and work is what I aspire to have one day. She always gave her honest critique about my work and showed much needed tough love that pushed my writing and research skills to a level that I would have never attain so early in my life if it wasn't for her. I still use the papers she gave for writing and research advice. I love and appreciate you and will always keep you in my heart and my mind, and definitely when I write, as without your teaching and guidance in those last 2 years of high school, I would not be the writer, researcher, and student I am today and moving forward, so I thank you eternally. May you rest in peace Ms. Rosa.
Thanks for reading. Until next week,
SG.
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