The Final Countdown

Today marks my last week here in Austin. Those who have spoken with me throughout the summer have heard me gush to almost no end about how much I love it here. The people are awesome, the city is incredible, and the paper is an excellent place to work.

It's hard to believe an 11-week internship can pass so quickly. It seems like mere weeks ago I was speeding through the West to get here; I suppose it really will. While I still do have five days left to accomplish great things, I feel like it's pretty much over. This week will be more about tying up loose ends, cleaning the apartment and preparing for the incredibly long drive back to Oregon, and then Montana for my (gasp) senior year at UM.

My work experience at the American-Statesman has been varied. From soccer to Olympic weightlifting to baseball to the WNBA, I don't know how much more broad an internship could be. For that, I'm enormously grateful.

That said, I've also experienced plenty that would scare any right-minded person out of this field. Early in my internship, a sister paper laid off nearly 200 positions. While the Statesman hasn't had to engage in any layoffs yet, it's not unreasonable to suspect they're right around the corner. To avoid the inevitable, the Statesman has put forth a hiring freeze. When someone leaves, the position is eliminated. This method, in turn, eliminates much hope of me getting a job here in the foreseeable future.

That's unfortunate, because if this paper offered me a job once I graduated, I would accept faster than you can say, "Austin Aztex beat."

However, as an incredible woman reminds me, the economy will turn around and eventually the print media will find a way to take advantage of the technology boom and how to utilize its staff, leading to a resurgence and, thus, a job for Bill. Also, as I choose to remind myself, I do this job because I love it. I believe I do it well (As Bobby Hauck told me many times, "You do what you do and you do it well." Oddly, he was never actually referring to me.) and have to believe my experience will lead me to a good job.


I like to think I'm worry about these things too soon. In another year, the job market may be totally different. I hope so. And I hope it's for the better.

In the meantime, I am focused more on preparing for the fall and my responsibilities of editor at the Montana Kaimin. It's a very exciting job and I hope to do it justice, though from where I sit, I do have some rather large shoes to fill.

While it reads like it, this won't be my last blog post. I anticipate having about four more bylines in the Statesman, and even more things may come up in my finals days. Look for those here.

Last week, I had another story run. I caught up with some athletes at an almost-local high school as they skipped typical summer activities to work out for the upcoming seasons. It's incredible how much high school sports in Texas resemble college athletics everywhere else. What is necessary to maintain any kind of competitive edge is so much more than anywhere else I've been. Even still, I'd argue the kids from Liberty Hill aren't really maintaining a competitive edge by working out in the summers, rather just keeping up with the A.C. Joneses.

Friday I went to a luncheon, the Texas Gridiron Classic, to meet up with some prep kids for some upcoming stories. I was also given the responsibility of videotaping Texas coach Mack Brown at a press conference, which I did, until the memory card on the camera I was using turned out to be full. They still tried to patch together a short video, but it didn't really turn into anything worth a damn. But, you are still welcome to give it a look. Being around Mack and his Longhorns coaching staff was a cool experience and something I'll remember when my time in Austin ends.

My dad flies in Thursday night and Saturday we head out.

It's been a trip.