To the readers of Annise’s Anecdotes, in addition to the usual topics of my blog, including horse racing, travel and my personality-driven anecdotal exposés, you’re going to see several new, career and school-oriented pieces that I will be writing for one of my college classes, Business and Professional Writing.

Even though I’m still at Saratoga Race Course in New York, covering the races for The Saratoga Special newspaper, today I will commence the writing for my class!

First off, I can’t believe I’m about to start my senior year of college. I haven’t fully wrapped my mind around that, especially since I’m currently sitting in the Saratoga press box, about to watch the last race of the day on the final Thursday afternoon I will spend at the track for a long time. After the race runs, I will head down to the winner’s circle to interview the connections of the winning horse, such as the trainer, owner or jockey. Then I’ll head back to the office and write a recap on the race for tomorrow’s paper.

Obviously I’ve been exposed to journalism, which lies in the realm of business communication. Through my current position I’ve learned how to conduct professional interviews with some of the most influential people in the sport of horse racing and write about the horses and people in an unbiased manner. Good reporting involves checking my facts, statistics and spelling and making sure it fits with the style of the paper.

While I’ve had a taste of many communication genres, such as social media, newsletters, journalism, press releases and blogs through past internships and communication positions I’ve held (see my resume page), I hope to expand on my knowledge of each of these throughout the course of this class.

While I know my way around social media, I wouldn’t call myself super technology savvy. I can figure my way around an iPhone and Windows computer, but I have no doubt that when I attain a career in the horse racing industry, I’m going to need to know more about various computer programs relating to the industry. For example, iPhone applications or website databases.

This semester I look forward to hearing about the communication experiences that my fellow students have had, as well as sharing my unique insight on the communications aspect of the horse racing industry.

See you soon NDSU! Until then, I have to go grab a trainer for an interview! 🙂