The Blog

During my internship, my trainer (@akellap) has made it a point to expose me to as much of the industry and the company as possible. Baltimore is so close to AP Washington offices, that it was almost inevitable that I’d go there a few times.

On my first trip I met Jesse Holland, the AP’s supreme court correspondent. Yes, that’s right. He was covering the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation hearings. I met him at a luncheon, a few days before the hearings began. When the luncheon was over I thought we’d just walk over to part of the office and talk about careers.

Instead, he gave me an ‘insider’ tour of the Congress, which I had never done before. And let me clearify, he took my to areas the general public is not allowed. I don’t think I ever imagined visiting the press rooms in the US Capitol at such a young age (see picture below).

And to top that off, he gave me a tour of the supreme court building and its press room.

So, needless to say I’d seen much more in a couple hours than I thought I’d see in a lifetime. My goals in a journalism career certainly don’t include being at the highest echelons of political reporting. I think this tour may have changed my mind about that.

So thank you, Jesse. That day is something I will never forget.

By the way, Holland’s got a book out and is working on another. Check it out.