After a spectacularly abysmal junior year, I was ready to just get my final year of formal education out of the way. Originally, I was supposed to be able to graduate in December of 1985. However, during my junior year, there were two classes required for both my majors that were offered on the same days at the same time. I knew then that I was in for the full four years. I wanted to finish in 3 1/2 years so I could feel like some sort of genius for once.
The year before, the Radio/TV Department was on the cusp of falling apart. The followed the departure of Dr. B the year before and the unexpected departure of the new department head in January. Two new faculty members were added. The department was starting to feel like it was getting back on its feet.
I decided that I was going to do one more Broadcast Workshop in TV News. No one tried to stop me. I had auditioned in previous years to be a reporter, but I never made the cut. This time, I was going to try to be a field cameraman. We had to do a lot of reading up on the equipment (which was different from the field equipment I used in Advanced TV Production). We had to pass the test before we could go out on assignments. Because it was taking so long for the tests to be administered, I actually was proactive and asked what I could do for my four hours a week. They said I could go out and shoot weather videos. These would be short video clips that got used in the background of the weather forecasts. I drove all over town finding nice visuals for the newscasts. No one ever complained about the content I brought back.
Finally, we got to take the test on the field equipment. We all failed, but I got the highest score. It was a very tough test. The News Director had us take another test. We all failed again, so we had to take a third test. This time, we all passed because it had questions from both previous tests. The News Director gave us a stern lecture about learning how to use the equipment.
Since we passed, we could finally go out on assignments. I got to do a number of different stories around town, but nothing really special. But then again, nothing really special ever happened in Portales, so I don't know what I was expecting.
I had one more semester left. I signed up for Broadcast Workshop and was going to do TV News again. But I finally got a full-time position at the radio station where I had been working part-time for the past 18 months. Since I was going to be working the overnight shift, I dropped a lot of classes that were not needed for my degree plans.
The final class I had to take was FCC Regulations. It was at 9am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. At the beginning of the semester, the new department head Dr. P, said that attendance was part of the grade. If we missed a certain number of classes or were tardy a certain number of times, our grades would be reduced 10%. If we continued to miss classes, it would drop another 10% and so on. Because of that overnight shift, I almost never made it to class on time and missed more than my allotment for a passing grade. I spoke to Dr. P about this predicament, but he assured me that he understood my unique situation and agreed that my absences would not count for more than 10% off my grade. I got a B for the semester. I was glad there was one person in the department I could count on when I really needed it.
At the very least, I had a full-time job when I graduated from college. I remember that right before commencement, we were in our gowns and getting ready to go into the arena for the ceremony. One of the people who scaled the heights of the Radio/TV Department was saying, "I don't know what I'm going to do. I don't have a job!" But I knew he didn't have much to worry about because he was really good looking. That's why he was one of our newscast's main student anchors. I was right. He eventually progressed and became the Vice President and General Manager of a TV station in Terre Haute, IN. He still looks good.
Looking back, I know I could have done better in the Radio/TV Department if I had just concentrated on that area. Instead, I was torn by my passion for live theatre and spent too much time trying to climb the ladder in that department, without much avail. My experience there will serve as another series in the near future.
Next week, I'm going to examine the good and the bad in the Radio/TV Department and what I could have done about it to keep from being such a loser.
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