When Holidays Work Against You

Mary Elizabeth Medawar, NBC5 Next

I got a great tip from some friends that a local high school just began a new enrollment program that gives students from disadvantaged neighborhoods the opportunity to attend a selective enrollment college preparatory school. So naturally I jumped at the story idea and began trying to find information about the program. Unfortunately for me, I picked the stupidest week (the week of the 4th) to do this story and was unable to contact the people I needed. I did learn some great lessons from this experience though: 1. Holiday weeks will always work against you because people take extended periods of time off. 2. It’s inevitable that doing a school-related story in the summer will be trying due to shortened office hours and lack of students to speak with, but it will be worse when there’s a holiday involved. Despite the problems I encountered, I was able to put together a package with the help of two people who gave me the resources and information I needed. To them I am sincerely grateful.