Sunday, August 9, 2009

Being a tourist in my own city

SJPers enter the New York Times building. (Photo Credit: Brian Rokus '99)
By Laura Cheng (Brooklyn, NY)

Being a native New Yorker, I wasn’t that excited for our trip into the city. Sitting on the bus, I was surrounded by excited chatter and laughter. But as we began to edge our way into the all too familiar traffic of New York, I began to feel butterflies in my stomach. I had always lived in New York, but this area was completely unfamiliar to me. When we stopped in front of The New York Times building, I was just as excited as the other SJP students. The New York Times headquarters was both amazing and intimidating. We were given a tour and met with Greg Brock, a senior editor at the paper. Afterwards, we were whisked off to The Daily Beast, where one of the SJP counselors, Ben Crair, edits articles. It was just as amazing, and the environment was more mellow and enjoyable. Next, we went to CNN, where we met with a producer. We went on a tour and got a chance to view the behind-the-scenes production. In the late afternoon, we had a panel discussion at TIME magazine. Writers and editors from TIME , Sports Illustrated for Kids, and People magazine discussed their publications and answered our questions.

The final adventure of the day was a minor league baseball game: the Newark Bears v. Long Island Ducks. Although I’m not usually a sports fan, I really enjoyed the game. I even managed to follow the game with help from the directors and counselors. A few highlights of the game include: the adorable mascot Ruppert, a tour of the press box and the appearance of SJP students AJ and Brianda dancing on the JumboTron.

That day was one of the best days of my life. I’d learned to appreciate the city that I live in, while learning about several very different publications. SJP seems to draw out the best qualities from the people and the places that it touches.

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