I left my eyes wide open as I stared at the Oregon State University campus in awe. The classic red bricks of the building walls were something I only saw in Google searches. As I opened the stiff door of my dorm room, I was astonished to see bunk beds. I was even more surprised to hear from many of my fellow camp students that they did not have bunk beds. With that envy, I left the room to go to lunch.
I did enjoy the food, especially the popsicles that we could have after meals. Moreover, the people at this camp were very welcoming. Most of us didn’t know each other, and I expected it to take a couple of days for us to begin having conversations. However, we started talking and laughing in a matter of minutes, like we knew each other for months. The challenge course and other team building activities, although they seemed weird in a journalism camp, enabled us to know each other to a greater extent. My excitement for this camp increased after that.
Over the next few days, I really began to understand journalism at a deeper level. The 20 of us were assigned to a group with another student and a mentor. My group was going to cover the Benton County Crisis Center that just opened about a week ago. I enjoyed working with other people, participating in mock interviews, and doing photography with a real camera…