Week 20

Another fantastic week has come and gone in the Independent Study and Mentorship Program. This week, I received nearly a dozen pictures of wildlife from around Frisco neighborhoods, which will be incredibly useful for our story in the spring. The pictures ranged in quality, but will all be helpful.

Here is one of the best ones of a bobcat taken on Bay Hill Drive:

With all the incredible camera shots I've already been sent, I will need to focus on video footage as well. I am still working on finding a GoPro camera in order to shoot video of the wildlife in the area. 

In other news, my mentors and I have been working on the earthquake story which will be airing in early February. When I went into the office on Thursday, I located all active, plugged and licence-revoked oil wells in Tarrant County and Denton County, and then Byron visited some of them to complete further investigation as to whether fracking is the cause of the unusual earthquakes. Hopefully, my contribution to the story will be an awesome original work for ISM this year.

Working with such incredible investigators has been an honor. I can hardly see what the rest of the semester holds!

Week 19

This week held more excitement in the Independent Study and Mentorship Program. I visited Mr. Jason Trahan at the WFAA Channel 8 Headquarters in downtown Dallas, and we discussed our plans for the year. I showed him the research I have completed on the Open Meetings and Public Information laws in Texas. We discussed who we are going to send open records request to in regards to the earthquake situation in Irving. It will be my job to file these requests, and they will be helpful in Jason and Byron's research on the issue. The final story will probably air mid-February.

We also decided on a story idea for the final product. Due to the large amounts of urbanization in Frisco, we've decided to pursue a story documenting the effects this has on wildlife in the area and investigation of whether or not there is proper planning in place to protect nature in Frisco.

I left the meeting with a detailed to-do list for the next week. It has been up to me to contact the City of Irving, the United States Geological Survey, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to determine who I need to ask for an open records request. I am also responsible for finding a GoPro camera for documenting wildlife, and blogging on the neighborhood website asking for pictures and video of wildlife in the area.

I am incredibly excited about all we accomplished this week and can not wait to see what next semester has in store!

Week 18

I HAVE MENTORS!!!!!!

This past week in the Independent Study and Mentorship was incredible. I presented my research speech to the class, researched the field, and gained two fantastic mentors.

My research speech went well. I am proud of the format it is set up with, and I believe I have a nice flow. My teacher suggested that I make it even better by opening up with an investigative story to hook everyone's attention. This will add a great flair to the presentation and keep attention engaged.

I also asked Jason Trahan and Byron Harris, investigative reporters from WFAA8, to be my mentors. They both said yes and we met up for the first time on Friday. We began discussing possibilities for the original work and product, and they showed me the current projects they are working on.  This year is going to be AMAZING, and I could not have ended up with a better pair of excited, diligent, passionate mentors.

Some of the ideas we threw out were the possibilities of my filing for open records requests from the state and investigating my own story. They will help me along the way and give me camera access, etc. I simply cannot wait for what this year holds.

Weeks 16 and 17

In the past two weeks, I have accomplished quite a bit in the Independent Study and Mentorship Program.

The most important and exciting event of the two weeks was the ISM Research Showcase, which took place on Tuesday, December 16th. On that night, all the ISM students in Frisco ISD came together at Heritage High School and presented our display boards and portfolios, showing what we have accomplished so far this year. The event was less stressful than I anticipated, mainly due to the fact that I had already experienced the Research Showcase last year. The night was still incredibly beneficial and exciting, however, as I was given the opportunity to proudly display all that I have accomplished this year. I also ended up talking with several people who had experience or connections in the field of journalism, and hearing their advice and stories was great.

I have also asked a lady to be my mentor. I have not heard back from her, however, and will have to wait till she responds. I will be delighted if she says that she can do it, but if she cannot, I have plenty of other fantastic contacts that would be wonderful mentors as well.

The next step in my ISM journey will be getting my visual presentation up-to-date and giving the research speech, as well as beginning my original work.