Catching WAY WAY WAY up....

It's been a while. I've been keeping myself too busy to post anything, with school work, Pine Needle writing, setting up my summer internship, Pembroke student ambassador duties, family visits and spending my few minutes of extra time with Mindy. Also having my laptop currently in Texas somewhere getting fixed has hindered me from posting as well.

School work is going well. A double-major within the Mass Com department in Journalism and Broadcasting hasn't been too bad, so far. I've been lucky enough to catch on with the UNCP student newspaper, The Pine Needle, since my freshman year, so I've had the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of the journalism side of my major before actually taking journalism classes. (A big Thank You has to go out to Charles Alston here, too, as his expertise and guidance prepared me while doing Rocky Mount Gryphon football games and contributing to ihigh for four years. His insight and mentorship put me on the right path.)

I was given the title (and work) of Assistant Sports Editor for the Pine Needle while I was still a freshman. In addition to writing the articles for each edition of the paper, I have actually been learning how to plan out the next edition and how to put all the articles, pictures and advertisements together for the finished product. I'm looking forward to the possibility of moving into the Sports Editor's role next year as a junior at UNCP.

I have also been working for the University as a student ambassador since my freshman year. I take prospective students on tours of our campus, field questions from them and their parents, give them the history of the University and fill them in on it's future plans. I do this during the school year and also throughout the summer. The ambassador role has given me the opportunity to speak to hundreds of these students and parents whenever we do Family Days, Open House, or whenever we have large groups visiting during other special days. Although I didn't know it at the time I agreed to get in front of all these people and talk about my experiences here at Pembroke, this has also given me the opportunity to hone my speaking skills, which has helped me in my Broadcasting Major and on my Monday night sports show here on campus.

Recently, as an ambassador, I had the opportunity to show Rocky Mount senior Chandler Phillips around the UNCP campus. Being my brother, he had been here several times during visits with my parents, but he really didn't get around to the entire campus. He had wrestled inside the English E. Jones Center, been to my dorm, and into the student center, which houses the cafeteria. Other than the bookstore and football field, that was all he had seen.

Chandler plans to major in Criminal Justice. During his official visit, he met with one of the department heads and sat in on a class in the Criminal Justice Building.

He also met with UNCP wrestling coach Jamie Gibbs.

Chandler's second (maybe first) reason for going to college includes Army ROTC. My brother wants to go into the military, and the ROTC program will give him the opportunity to go into the Army as an officer. If he can finish high enough, he would have the job he chooses when he graduates. Going to UNCP, he could opt to use his Criminal Justice degree to do something else if the military life doesn't suit him.

Chandler and coach Gibbs will talk again soon. Right now, we're not certain that Chandler will continue his wrestling career at Pembroke (who sent four to NCAA Division II National Championships and returned two All-Americans). There is a big conflict between the ROTC and being a member of the wrestling team. Both groups demand loads of commitment and even more time. Only Chandler can determine if he can put forth the physical effort to do both. I will update you on his decision as he works through it. (Chandler narrowed his choices to UNCP and Appalachian State before choosing Pembroke).

I'm looking forward to my summer away from school, although a good portion of it will include doing my first summer internship. I can't believe I have to pay for a summer class because I'm working over the summer. I'm paying for a class and I won't be at school OR at home with my family. In order to get credit for an internship, I had to register for a summer class and pay for it. At least I'm getting credit hours towards my degree in return.

After moving all my stuff back home at the end of the school year, I'm planning to do next to nothing for about a week. Addison Teachey and I will then drive down to Tampa, Florida to take in a three game set between the Rays and the Red Sox at Tropicana Field. Unfortunately, our "Baseball Road Trip" was canceled last summer, but we are continuing the tradition that began after graduation from RMHS in '08, when we traveled to Baltimore, Maryland to watch the Orioles and Astros play. I'm pretty stoked that we can get this Road Trip back on track this year.

Upon returning from Tampa, I'll head to Charlotte, North Carolina, where I'll spend a good portion of my remaining summer days. My internship will be behind the microphone of the Lake Norman Copperheads' summer league baseball broadcasts. The Copperheads are a baseball team made up of college players, competing in the Southern Collegiate Baseball League. The league consists of teams from North and South Carolina and Tennessee. I'll be doing the Copperhead home game broadcasts a couple times a week. You can catch my play-by-play on the internet by going to the Lake Norman Copperheads Home Page, then clicking on the "listen at Teamline" icon. I'll also be working on revamping their webpage, Twitter and Facebook pages while I'm not calling games.

I'm pretty excited about the opportunity to do live radio/internet broadcasts. Please feel free to send me your comments, if you get the chance to listen in for a few innings over the summer. Hopefully, my experience doing the Monday night sports radio show at the UNCP radio station will help get me through the games. Since I've never actually sat in the booth and called a game, it will be an interesting summer of learning for me.

Speaking of live radio, we have experienced some technical difficulty the past couple of weeks on the show, but you will hopefully be able to listen to the last last few of the year. You can listen in on the 'net by going to UNCP.com, then clicking the scroll down bar on the right side of the page and scrolling down to UNCP Radio. Once on the Radio page, click on "Live Broadcasts". We are live for about an hour, starting about 6 PM on Monday evenings. We discuss and recap the previous week's sporting events that involve Braves teams and a little bit of the sports world outside the campus.

Looking forward to sharing my thoughts during my upcoming Summer Experience '10,

Nick.