When I applied to the NAB Technology Internship Grant, I had no clue what was going to come next.
I heard about the opportunity through my boss at Central Sound at Arizona PBS. He explained to me that I would fly out to Las Vegas for the convention and after that I would work full-time at KJZZ Phoenix for the summer. I had never heard of the NAB convention before my boss told me about it, but I was stoked to say the least. He put me in touch with KJZZ/KBAQ for my application and before I knew it, I was on a plane to Las Vegas. When I got to my hotel, I had to change into professional clothing and attend my first meeting with NAB Pilot. I entered the conference room and when I stepped through the door, I was greeted by my peers. Little did I know, almost all of them were over the age of 21 and had a diverse range of background experience, whether it was in computer engineering or studio recording. I was the youngest one there, which was a super cool feeling, since I was only 18 years old. My peers and I sat through many professionals in the broadcasting industry lecturing us on everything from RF technology to ATSC 3.0. Being able to collect a better understanding of what was going on in the broadcast technology world and what was starting to change was an amazing introduction to the actual convention. The first day we were able to enter the convention doors and roam around the convention floor, I was overwhelmed. There was well over 100 booths of technology and different companies in each section of the convention building. I didn't even understand what most of the booths were for. I was soon informed on various alarm systems and their place in broadcast technology. I was also able to sit in a conference on the Next Generation of Radio, which was pretty eye-opening to me. In that conference, I decided to be the bold teenager that I am and stand up to be the first person to ask a question during the Q & A. It was pretty intimidating, since I was one of the only young people (also one of the only women) in the room out of a sea of older men. Not going to lie -- I regretted it for a second. But, I asked a question about if it was becoming possible to combine the role of a journalist with a sound engineer and everyone on the panel's faces lit up. I could feel the entire room staring at me. The responses I received from people after the conference had ended was one of the biggest reasons why my passion for audio engineering expanded even more than it had been before. When I look back at the NAB convention, not only do I think about how much school I had to make up when I got back (just kidding), I think about how much networking I did and how meaningful of an experience I had. I met genuine friends through the Technology Internship Grant and Technology Apprenticeship Program that I wouldn't have made if we weren't selected for the program in the first place. The NAB convention taught me so much and I am forever grateful to my boss at Central Sound at Arizona PBS for recommending me for the internship and my bosses at KJZZ/KBAQ/Sun Sounds of America and Friends of Public Radio Arizona for accepting me out of everyone that had applied to experience something that I won't ever forget.
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