Picturing the News – CriShaun’s Internship with the OBX Voice

For my internship through the OBX Field Site I’ve been working alongside the OBX voice as a photographer. The OBX Voice is a local news outlet that works to inform the people of the NC coast of everything going on in the Outer Banks, from local elections to impending storms.

Under the guidance of my mentor, Mark Jurkowitz, I’ve traveled all throughout the Outer Banks photographing for various stories. I’ve been able to attend town meetings, court proceedings, and even had the chance to travel to Hatteras following Hurricane Dorian to take pictues of relief efforts.

 

Through my work with the Voice, I’ve had the opportunity to improve my photography skills as well as my information gathering skills. This has been important to me as I feel that these skills are vital toward pursuing a future as an environmental photographer and journalist.

In addition to the skills that I’ve been developing, I’ve also had the pleasure of meeting various people and gaining insight to the different ways of life here on the coast. I’ve seen areas that I otherwise would have never visited and helped deliver a vital resource (information) to the people of the OBX.

 

Overall, this experience has been extremely worthwhile. I’ve enjoyed my time working with Mark and am appreciative of the opportunities I’ve been given. I look forward to my remaining internship days and can’t wait to apply what I’ve learned to future experiences.

A collection of my experiences in OBX

The past few weeks have been quite busy for us here at the OBX Field Site as we are putting in hard work toward making an awesome capstone project while also completing work for our classes and individual internships. We’ve been collecting and testing water samples, gathering relevant scientific papers, and we’ve even begun conducting interviews. In fact, I had the opportunity to conduct the first interview of the project (which went superb).

Bob, a volunteer with the Baptist Men organization, as he wheels out debris at a residential property in Avon, N.C. that was damaged due to flooding from hurricane Dorian.

Despite our abundance of work, I’ve really come to enjoy my time here on the Outer Banks. One aspect that I’m continually enjoying is my internship with the OBX Voice. Over the course of the semester, I’ve gotten to travel all throughout the coast to photograph for the Voice on a range of stories. I’ve had the opportunity to meet new people, see parts of the coast I’d otherwise be unable to, and work on my skills as a photographer. One assignment I enjoyed was covering the efforts to rebuild in Buxton, NC, after hurricane Dorian. While it was sad to see the destruction, I found it truly inspiring to see the volunteers aiding with rebuilding and debri removal. Some of the volunteers even came from as far as Delaware and Texas to help with disaster relief. I’ve enjoyed my work thus far and look forward to what my future assignments may bring.

Me, attempting to catch a wave.

Outside of field site work, I’ve also been able to dabble in some of the activities exclusive to the coast. One such activity has been surfing. Thanks to Christin, a member of our Community Advisory Board, I’ve been able to try my hand at surfing near Jennette’s Pier. Despite falling in a few times (or most of the time), I think I’ve started to get the hang of it and I think that it’s a hobby, I’ll definitely try to keep practicing. 

 

In addition to the fun activities, I’ve also had the opportunity to volunteer with the OBX SPCA in my spare time. I’ve helped them out at a few of their events and gotten a chance to meet and spend time with a few of the awesome animals that they are currently looking after. 

I’m excited to experience even more of the OBX and look forward to continuing my work here at the field site!