Movin' On

I remember the first day I came to college in August of 2008 anticipating graduation in May 2012. May is finally here and I will be graduating with a degree in journalism and mass communications with a news-editorial emphasis.


Looking back on the first day of JMC 100, I was nervous going into the class. However, the nerves quickly subsided when I met Kelly Scott that first day. Things only got better from there.


After JMC 100, I took Newswriting with Anita Fleming-Rife. We went on a field trip to tour The Greeley Tribune, which was the best field trip because I got to see how an actual newspaper functions.


Then I took Advertising with Wayne Melanson, Media Planning and Research with Kelly Scott, Visual Journalism and Documentary with Gary Swanson, Mass Communications Law with Dale Edwards, News Editing and Layout and Advanced News and Feature Writing with Lynn Klyde-Silverstein.


They were all exceptional classes. I never had a low point and I learned so much. The only class I would not recommend for news-editorial emphasis majors would be the Media Planning and Research. I only took the class because Kelly Scott was teaching and she is the one person who influenced me to continue with the journalism major. The only thing I remember about the class is how to measure column inches in a newspaper.


I feel like I am prepared to work in today’s journalism field because I capitalized on the opportunities provided by the program to gain experience. Some of the major opportunities are working for The Mirror Student Newspaper for three years, completing an internship with the Windsor Beacon and producing a documentary on Greeley’s roller derby league. It’s been such an awesome experience all around and the professors are all fabulous.

Mosaic Art Show

Each year the Atlas Theater church puts on two art show auctions geared toward helping local and international charities. These Mosaic Art Shows are all designed around a theme.

Artists and musicians are expected to create a piece around the theme. The artists submit their pieces to a silent auction. The proceeds raised during the evening will go toward the specific charity.

During the bidding, the musicians perform their pieces for the attendees. Local musicians like Tim Coons, Renee Swick, Nathaniel Valdez and Joe Lee Parker have performed at past events. However, any local musician or artist is welcome and encouraged to perform and/or submit a piece.

For this art show, the theme is Walk. Megan Martinez, who is in charge of the Mosaic Art Shows, said the proceeds will go to Children of Peace International to help build an orphanage in Vietnam. The proceeds will also go to help COPI care for children, especially young girls who have been rescued or escaped from sex trafficking.

These events always have a good turn out and provide a great opportunity for the community to come together.

Sarah Redman, a senior art and philosophy major at the University of Northern Colorado, said she really looks forward to Mosaic Art Shows.

“The art and music are spectacular enough to make the evening worth it, but the charities Atlas picks are fantastic organizations," she said. "COPI is our cause this year and they do amazing work."

The next Mosaic Art Show will be at 6 p.m. Friday, April 28 at the Atlas Theater on 16^th Street and 7^th Avenue.

Crazy, but that's how it goes

It has been a long and winding road in Advanced News and Feature Writing. I spent the semester covering the local music scene of Greeley. I completed a day in the life story of The Stubby Shillelaghs and am currently finishing a profile story on Tim Coons.

For the day in the life story, I followed The StubbyShillelaghs on a Tuesday night at Patrick’s Irish Pub. What makes this particular evening important to the local Irish rock band is the pub is where they started. I really like the atmosphere of the place; the guys in the band are very approachable and easy to talk to.

One major bump in the road was I originally did a day in the life story of the band Paul Beveridge and Company. I interviewed the band and followed them the day they had their kick-starter show. A kick-starter is a web site where people can donate money to support the band. In a single evening they raised their goal amount and disclosed the information to me. However, I got a text from Paul the next day asking me to leave that newsworthy information out. I had put so much time and effort into gathering the story and in an instant it had become unusable. I wish I had learned earlier to listen to my gut instincts. I did not feel confident with how the story was going.

The profile story is going really well. Last week I conducted an interview with Tim Coons that lasted two hours. I enjoyed every minute of it. Tim Coons has such an interesting story to tell. He is so passionate about music and helping people. I look forward to continue working with him on the project.

Crossroad Blues

This summer will be the eighth year Greeley hosts its most anticipated music festival, The Greeley Blues Jam.

The festival will be June 8 to 9. It will be 11 hours of non-stop blues music and will take place at the Island Grove Park.

Those running the Blues Jam already have their lineup planned out with national and local blues bands. The bands expected are Eddie Turner from Chicago, Jimmie Vaughan and Lou Ann Barton from Austin, The Soul Rebels Band from New Orleans, The Mary Bridget Davies Group from Cleveland and local blues group The Otis Taylor Band coming from Denver.

In its eight years, this festival is already considered by some to be the best blues festival in northern Colorado.

In mainstream pop culture, blues music is not as popular as other genres. Blues music has been around since before the 20^th Century.

The pivotal year for the blues genre was in 1936 in the time of Robert Johnson, who is considered the most influential musician of the 20^th Century.

There is a legend that blues became more popular when Robert Johnson found a crossroads, struck a deal with the Devil to make him the best guitar player in the country. He died mysteriously at 27 years old and only recorded 29 songs.

His song, Crossroad Blues, is most famously covered by rock musicians Eric Clapton and John Mayer. The Otis Taylor band will also be participating in a concert at the Apollo Theatre in New York City as part of a tribute to Robert Johnson’s 100^th birthday on March 6.

To experience performances by this underappreciated musical style, tickets are available at greeleybluesjam.com and prices range from $25 to $30.

Blogging in Greality

Having a blog is a first for me. I had a diary when I was little, but I never had a long enough attention span to stick with it for more than a week. Ironically, I love writing and reporting, but I hate when I focus on me when I write. I love hearing and sharing other people’s stories; I don’t care about my own.

I have been a reporter for The Mirror since February 2010. My first article was a feature on the university’s first pep band. I was shocked at how easy it was to get the story. I also did an internship at the Windsor Beacon over the summer of 2011. I fit in very well with David Persons, editor, and Ashley Keesis-Wood, reporter.

 I have never covered a beat before, but I am confident that in covering the local music scene, I will learn a lot. I hope to gain insight into what bands have to do to create good music. Greeley residents, especially college students, really enjoy supporting local bands.

Some journalistic strengths I have are the confidence to approach people, getting good quotes and using the quotes to tell a good story.

One journalistic weakness is I have the ability to make any situation awkward at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, I do not know how to counter this.

I am confident that I will keep up with this blog, mostly because I am getting a grade. However, after I am graded, I hope I have the attention span to stick with it.