Yesterday was my last day at the Times. It feels rather surreal knowing that I won’t be there as an intern again (or maybe I will, only God knows). Inspired by my friend and fellow D.C. intern, Melissa, I’ve compiled a list of my top 10 memories from my time at The Washington Times. 

10. Asking my first question at a press conference. I got to raise a little card that said, “press,” on it and have a mic and everything. It was the first time I really felt like a reporter.

9. Interviewing Invisible Children spokesperson Jedidiah Jenkins. I’ve been following Invisible Children for years now and to be able to interview someone from the organization, be complimented on my coverage of a story and be told they look forward to working with me in the future 

8. Being able to cover the first day of Occupy D.C. and witness the movement grow, from a reporter’s standpoint. It was interesting to be there the very first day of this whole thing. These protests might be something to go down in history, or that everyone’s going to say, “remember when…?” and I’ll be able to say, “Oh, yeah, I covered that.”

7. Seeing high, double-digit numbers in the online comments of my articles. Knowing that you’re serving your purpose in creating a forum for public discourse is a really good feeling. Seeing people actively respond to something you reported and provided information for is something that will never get old for me.

6. Covering committee hearings at the Capitol. Even though I only went to two committee hearings, and they were for the House of Representatives, there was still something completely amazing about sitting at the press table, taking notes furiously and exchanging glances with other reporters when the politicians started acting ridiculous.

5. The adrenaline rush of writing a story two hours before deadline. It was writing this one story that made me remember why I wanted to be a journalist. Having to literally run home and sit down at my laptop and bang out a story on deadline was one of the most exhilarating feelings I’ve ever had.

4. Receiving multiple emails in praise for my coverage of some hot issues. The Archdiocese of Washington emailed me in praise for my coverage of the story I wrote on the new translation of the Roman Missal. Several of my sources contacted me to thank me for being fair when reporting on the effects of the “sin” industries on the national economy. Being affirmed, especially when I was doubting my skills, was really nice. 

3. Being able to talk to people who most people won’t be able to say they’ve talked to. How many people do you know can say they’ve interviewed a neo-Nazi, an Irish priest actually in Ireland, protestors at Occupy D.C. and several spokespeople for big think tanks?

2. Seeing my first byline in the Nation section of the Times. At first, I just thought the story was to be published online only. When Terry came into class the next morning and threw a clipping at me that had “Jordan E. Otero” attached to it, I literally screamed and turned beet red. It was surreal to be the first one in the program published on tree pulp - as well as the youngest one in both D.C. BestSemester programs.

1. Accomplishing a front page centerpiece story during my 11 weeks at the Times. I’ll never forget walking past a Times newspaper box and seeing the words, “BANKING ON SIN” scream at me from the front page. It took a minute to process that it was my story that was the focus of that day’s issue. 

My time at the Times (ha) was very beneficial to both me as a person and as a reporter. I learned a lot from my experiences there and know that the lessons I picked up will stay with me for the rest of my life, regardless of where God leads me. 

How Kelley and I feel when the entire Dellenback goes out partying.