A Day at the Daily Pilot: Mentor for a Day

Ever since I was a little girl, people have asked me what I want to be when I grow up.

I have always had trouble with this question since there are so many job possibilities I would like to try. But now the question of what I want to be seems much more prevalent; as a high school junior, I only have a few years until I apply for my first real job. Although this realization was slightly daunting, I recognized that if I were to decide what I want to do with my life early on, I could be able to refine my skills in the field I want to work in and thus succeed once I get the job. Many people scoff at the idea that 16-year-old kids feel the need to decide what they want to do at such a young age, but this new generation is very competitive. We must learn our trades at a young age to survive and then try to succeed.

Fortunately, the Chamber of Commerce noticed the need for students to decide what path they want to take with their lives with a program called Mentor for a Day. In this program, students from Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor High School, Back Bay High School, and Orange County Middle College High School were able to choose different fields that they were interested in pursuing and then shadow someone who works in that field. What better way to prepare for a job than getting a taste of an employee’s daily schedule firsthand? I jumped on this opportunity and sent in my application right away. Thankfully, I was accepted to explore the field I was most interested in: journalism.

The mentees met at the Radisson Inn on Thursday, March 27, all anxious to discover what their mentors had in store for them. I met with Lisa Cosenza, my mentor, along with two other girls that were prospective journalists, Emily Morris and Rebecca Slater. After a delicious breakfast, we set out for the Daily Pilot to get a look into the world of journalism. Lisa introduced us to everyone she works with, and everyone was very kind to us. They stopped what they were doing and seemed eager to explain what they were doing. We felt that the Daily Pilot had a very welcoming atmosphere and that all the employees were genuinely nice people. She took us on a tour of the entire building, from the printing presses all the way to her own office. We got a chance to see the newspaper come together right before our eyes: the presses were rolling, the journalists were hurriedly writing articles to be published the next day, people were getting calls from the police station about news that was happening that very second. It was so exciting! I felt that after my day with Lisa, I know how to answer the incessant question of what I want to be when I grow up. I will look them straight in the eye and confidently tell them that I am going to be a journalist.