I cannot believe that I managed to write an entire introductory blog post without introducing myself to all of you! So welcome to the life of a news junkie who can be a bit of a perfectionist and never gets enough sleep! :) Is it obvious that I have been busy?! Let's take a step back for a second. My name is Lauren Galippo and I am a senior broadcast journalism major (with a writing minor) at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. Although I attend school in Texas, I am not a Southerner -- in fact I am from sunny Palm Springs, California! Interesting fact: TCU was actually the only out of state school I applied to. I never imagined that I would have left the state of California but it turns out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I was born and raised in the golden state and my parents, little brother "Willy" and our two adorable weimaraners still reside there. In case you do not know what kind of dog that is, just think of the cute German dogs captured in images by artist William Wegman (or just click here if you are now intrigued)! I miss my family so much but I have found so many amazing friends here in D.C., I have not had time to be homesick. I will be graduating in May of next year and I could not be more excited to start searching for my first job!

This summer I lived in San Diego and interned at a local news station there. I worked on the Good Morning San Diego show so I was out the door at 3:30 a.m. (yes...three thirty in the morning). Despite the fact that my friends thought I was absolutely insane for wanting to wake up that early, I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences I have had so far in my journalism career. I learned so much, accomplished things and got more confident with my skills as a reporter in such a short amount of time; I cannot imagine how much I am going to learn over the course of this semester at CBS News! In fact, I have already learned so much and done so many new and exciting things and I just finished my second week there! I highly recommend changing that channel to CBS This Morning if you have time before work. It is by far the best morning show on television. It combines human interest stories, with national news and well researched political stories. The CBS This Morning anchors are Charlie Rose, Norah O'Donnell and Gayle King. They are fantastic!

Shooting stand ups for my internship in San Diego this past summer.

3 A.M. WAKE UP CALL

I started my internship during a week (last week) of pure madness and chaos. With the attack on the U.S. embassy in Libya, the newsroom was busy all day, every day. The chaotic energy is such a rush! If you are a news junkie or looked online at all last week, I am sure you are well aware of the events taking place in Libya. I jumped into the newsroom and started doing everything I could to contribute to the news making process during that hectic week. I do not think there could have been a better way to start my internship! One aspect I love about journalism is everything is so hands on and nobody is going to hold your hand and walk you through anything. It is all about what you make of it and how much work you put into it. It is up to you to determine what you get out of your internship and how much you contribute to your workplace. I did a lot of research for the producers last week and had the opportunity to assist a producer in the field that Thursday. I helped our talented producer with a live interview with Rob Portman, the U.S. Senator from Ohio.

Rob Portman & I

And just when I thought the day couldn't get any better, I was able to assist another producer with an interview at Capitol Hill! She interviewed Utah Congressman Rob Bishop. At this point, you could say I was freaking out! Here I am - my first week at a well respected and brilliant news organization - assisting some of the most talented producers there are. Absolutely unbelievable and I could not be more grateful for all of these opportunities. I was about to say that it is days like these that affirm my passion for journalism, but each and every day that I am contributing to the news making process I realize this is exactly where I want to be. What - a - day!

Utah Congressman Rob Bishop

AND IT'S ALREADY FRIDAY...

I cannot believe that it is already Friday! I swear Monday was just yesterday. Today I woke up at 3 a.m. to take a taxi to the office. On Fridays, Norah O'Donnell broadcasts live from our studio at the Washington bureau. I was fortunate enough to meet Norah this past spring at the TCU Schieffer School of Journalism Schieffer Symposium. She is such a genuinely nice person! On Fridays I go in super early to help the producers with whatever they need help with that morning: printing rundowns, greeting guests, taking guests from the green room to the studio, researching, logging, printing articles for Norah, etc. It is so much fun despite the fact that the sun isn't even up yet! :) Even though I have only been at my internship for two weeks now, I already know that this will be the best, most rewarding experience of my journalism career at this point in my life. I have learned so much from the professionals around me and I know that there is still so much more to discover and learn. I can't wait!

Norah O'Donnell & I at the Schieffer Symposium

Bob Schieffer & I

UNTIL NEXT TIME!

I can't believe how fast time flies, especially when you are having fun! I have only been at the Washington Center for about three weeks now but it feels like it has been a year. I don't ever want to leave!