Emma Zayer

I woke up sick the morning after Commencement on the National Mall. Thankfully, this was after the eight-hour family drive from D.C. to New York and after unloading all my dorm stuff into our garage. Coughing, sore throat, fever, losing my voice...bleh, the worst illness I've had in a while. But it's a virus so there's been little to do other than rest, drink plenty of fluids and treat the symptoms. And as much as it sucks to be sick, the timing couldn't have been better. I push myself very hard on a regular basis and think some R&R was long overdue. It's been nice to rest.

On a much more upbeat note, I got some fantastic news a few days ago --- I was named one of the top 100 college journalists in the country by UWire, a cooperative media service for college news publications. Basically, they compile the best college articles and offer them to be redistributed to other college newspapers, the way you might see an Associated Press piece reprinted in a newspaper.

I was nominated by some of my collegiate colleagues a few months ago, when UWire first put out the open-call for nominations for the most talented college journalists. After getting notification that I'd been nominated, I built a profile on the UWire site by submitting my stories, a bio, and a resume. A few weeks ago I was told I was among the 350 or so finalists, and was asked to suggest a couple of people who could comment on me as a journalist. There was a lot of 'let's see what happens...' And finally...getting that email that I was on the list was fantastic!

Seeing my page on the UWire 100 is awesome. It's great to feel like four years of hard work really paid off, to be recognized for my contributions as a student journalist and to be praised by my peers and friends. Thanks so much to everyone who helped make it happen. It was a great way to top off graduation and hopefully a sign of more wonderful things to come.

P.S. I am feeling much better physically too!