The Unofficial Show

I always make it a point to stay consistent with any running gags I have. Last year during our show on Unofficial Weekend, I remember wearing a green tie covered in Shamrocks, so I literally scoured my closet and even went back home one weekend to find it. Because it’s all about consistency!

But that’s besides the point. Last year’s show I was still a relative newcomer anchoring alongside one of our anchors who graduated last year, Addi Ippensen. There’s a segment I did where I was interacting with some of the rescued wildlife on campus (a turtle and a hawk if I remember it correctly), but in that segment, which was for the most part unscripted, I really felt frozen, entirely cautious to how I’d present myself to our audience.

Needless to say, one year, and birthday later, I felt like we put together the best show we’ve ever had on GMI. I fully expect to continue this trend of getting better and better as a whole each show, and over the last full episodes I’ve seen more than enough evidence of that.

This was the first episode of our season where we’ll be seeing a host of new and old faces getting their first shine in the anchor’s seat. I remember how nerve-racking it was for my first time. Luckily for my co-anchor last week, Blake Landa, it wasn’t his first rodeo being on air, even though myself and UI7 News Correspondent Jose Zepeda jumped at any gaffe for a quick “rookie mistake!” joke.

The best part about GMI is our ability to have fun during the show, and I think last episode is another big example of just that. Now that our ‘new’ crew has finally gotten accustomed to each other, our expectations and have developed some real chemistry, it felt like we just didn’t miss a beat.

Also, last but not least, I can’t help but say I was really impressed with how the show turned out because one of our producers, Liam Dwyer, actually produced the entire 30-minute UI7 News Broadcast the night prior. As somebody who’s not had to produce back-to-back shows with such a quick turnover, and considering how seamless the show actually looked, major props!