ex(PR)essed

For the past few weeks, I have been reading the Patriot-News with increased interest. The byline — by Prasana William — never fails to get my attention. Prasana is interning with the Patriot-News this summer and, in the fall, she will work in here in the public relations office. She is doing an outstanding job of covering a variety of stories for the paper — everything from a front page story about allergies to the recent Dylan concert to explaining the virtual phenomenon Second Life. We usually think of internships as being solely for the benefit of the intern, but in Prasana’s case, I suspect that the Patriot-News is benefiting greatly from her smooth writing style and young, fresh, hip point of view!

Watching for Prasana’s byline has reminded me of the summer of `97 when I interned for the Meadville Tribune. It was a thrill every morning to open the paper and find the story I had written, picture I had taken, or page I had helped design. While the Meadville Tribune isn’t the biggest or best newspaper in Pennsylvania, my time as an intern certainly provided me with a helpful understanding of print media. I am grateful for the experience and certain that experience helped me land an internship at the Andy Warhol Museum and my first job at the PA League of Cities and Municipalities.

How can it be the last week of June already?! Summer is going much too quickly!

I’m about to reveal what a total PR dork I am. Brace yourself.

It was a moment of sheer delight for me yesterday to see an op-ed by Messiah’s own Richard Hughes prominently placed on page A15 in the Philadelphia Inquirer. I was actually at home feeling sick yesterday (stupid never-ending allergy season) when I remembered that Monday, June 11 was the day — the long-awaited day when the academic quality of Messiah College would be defended on a national stage after being mocked by many in relation to the Monica Goodling story.

At 11 a.m., I rushed to my computer to see the story online. Sheer delight. I have no other way of explaining the extent of my pleasure at seeing that op-ed in print! I even stopped at Giant later in the evening to purchase a copy of the newspaper.

So, drop what you’re doing right now, and immediately read Richard’s op-ed. You’ll quickly understand why I’m Richard Hughes’ biggest fan!

Jeff and I excitedly found ourselves with a free evening last night! The weather was perfect and we were determined to spend the evening outside. So, we headed to Bumblebee Hollow to play miniature golf. I was totally on my game and Jeff suffered a heart-wrenching defeat.

Then, we drove to Messiah to play frisbee in the grass down by the creek. It was great to see people playing tennis, circling the track, and walking their dogs. Just goes to prove that campus is still lively in the summer, even when the students aren’t here! I kicked off my sandals, and Jeff and I tossed the frisbee around on the softball field for quite awhile. When I could no longer stand the swarms of gnats circling my head, we waded into the creek. While I simply wandered around in the cool water, Jeff was scouting for fish and other underwater creatures. Well, he found a crayfish, and he picked it up only to have it latch on — hard — to his finger. He was jumping around and trying to shake off the crayfish while I was laughing so hard I could hardly stand up. Good times…

There are two families of geese living by the creek. One family has two babies and the other has four babies. Baby geese are pretty cute — all fuzzy and gangly. I’m glad they chose to make Messiah their home.

Even before I worked at the college, Jeff and I took advantage of Messiah’s recreational opportunities. Sometimes we would walk the fitness trail or play tennis. Other times we would picnic along the creek. What a lovely place!