Gone were the MLA headings, 11:05 a.m. lunches, and double-spaced essays.  I had entered the “real world” of real life employees, bosses, and work phones with options like conference and transfer.  To millions of people around the world, these items and people make up their everyday life.  But I felt like a foreigner. 

Slowly I became accustomed to the long hours of silent concentration, only to be disturbed by the occasional typing of keys and the clang of the candy jar lid by my desk by the next “sneaky” individual who tried to be stealthy in getting their daily chocolate fix. Working in a quiet, yet productive atmosphere, just me, my research, and my writing was an enlightening experience.

Though sitting through a tax conference wouldn’t exactly be number one on my list of events to attend at the Indiana Chamber, I was pleasantly surprised and a little relieved that taxation could be presented in a more interesting way than I had previously been exposed to it … i.e. dinner table conversations with my dad, (Chamber director of taxation & public finance) Bill Waltz.  I also had the privilege of writing two short stories for BizVoice.

My short internship at the Chamber also involved archiving old issues of BizVoice. This did involve lifting heavy boxes, not to give Paul, another Chamber intern, any feelings of nostalgia (see June 6th’s blog).

At the end of two quick weeks, I can honestly say that the writers here encouraged me to keep up my interest in journalism and have definitely not scared me away from my aspiring profession.