Deer in the headlights!

Who knew! --> Apparently, when I'm placed in front of a video camera and lights, my brain shuts off! :)

Setting up...

Today, a NIU video crew came to the soil lab to interview me about my research experiences at NIU. I thought it would be a breeze, because I've been known to uncontrollably gush about all the valuable professional opportunities, unique research experiences, and exceptional mentoring I've received while attending NIU! What I quickly realized, however (and was trying to prepare for before going into the interview), was that they didn't want uncontrollable gushing, they wanted concise sound bites. When it came time to actually answering their questions however, I was already feeling a little intimidated by the camera and lights and as a result seemed to simply forget everything I had planned to say. I also became slightly overwhelmed by how I was going to fit EVERYTHING I wanted to say into short, stand alone sound bites. Ultimately, this led to a few flustered moments, which then lead to having to redo takes. Even though they assured me it was normal, I definitely felt bad about the retakes I needed! In the end, the video shoot was fun and the camera crew couldn't have been nicer or more patient!

Inevitably, once the interview was over, I kept thinking of all the great things I had wanted to say - go figure! Oh well, I'm sure there is SOMETHING they can use in everything I did end up saying - even if it's not exactly perfect - especially since I am only one of the people they are going to highlight in their 2 min promotional video!  I just did not expect to have such a nervous reaction! :)

Anyway, I'll be sure to share the video when it comes out. That's all for now...