By the time I reached the age of 18, I was a major news junkie. I combined an interest in journalism with a desire to study television production. That led me to the American University in Washington, D.C. A. U. is located in the northwest section of the District of Columbia, close to Embassy Row, a few minutes from Georgetown and around the corner from WRC-TV, an NBC Universal owned and operated station. WRC is one of the oldest broadcast facilities in the country. It’s was the home of former Today Weatherman Willard Scott, Sportscaster George Michael and NBC’s national news bureau. I spent many hours there as an intern and production assistant.

AU had great professors and a studio where I could learn the fundamentals of video, film, and audio production. Many of the dorms had access to the studio’s closed-circuit feed, and I began producing a live comedy show called the Video Show.

I worked all four years in the A.U. Audio Visual department. It was a great job, and I developed hands-on experience with video cameras, audio mixers, film projectors, and 35mm still cameras. As an added bonus, I learned how to drive a stick shift with the AV department’s delivery van.

American University was home to WAMU, an NPR Flagship station with a 50,000-watt broadcast tower on campus. I interned on the Dian Rehm show, which was broadcast daily on the NPR radio network.

The American University Freshman Class registry