The Guardian
College of Court Reporting, est. 1984
January, 2019
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CCR Enrolled Students -- What are they doing?
Carrie Johnson -- Internship Experience
Going into the internship, I was very nervous. I did not feel like I was ready to be at that stage in my school experience. I was not sure I had enough speed. I was not comfortable with some of the procedural elements. Overall, I just was not sure I had what it took to be a real court reporter, yet.
Before my very first deposition I sat in on, I was a nervous wreck. I had gone shopping the day before to make sure I had an appropriate outfit. I had all my equipment packed, along with everything I had been told I might need. The first ten minutes of the deposition were a blur. I don’t know that I wrote the majority of what was said. My fingers just didn’t want to move. My nerves wouldn’t calm down enough for my brain to be able to switch to autopilot.
Then I nailed an entire question and answer exchange. I even nailed a section that my mentor had some drops on. It finally started clicking in my brain. My fingers knew what they were supposed to be doing. I had been working for years towards that very moment. I got out of my head and it all started to work. My notes were by no means perfect. I had several more sections with horrible drops. At one point the attorneys started arguing, and my mentor was asked to readback what happened before all the arguing. I panicked for her. She handled it like the true professional she is. It was a great learning experience to see that moment, and to see what I wanted to be able to emulate later down the road.
After that first deposition, I knew better how I needed to practice and what I needed to work on to ready myself to go on a job on my own. I started working more on QA extensions to help get those extra few seconds to keep up with a fast speaker. I worked on reading my notes to decipher the untranslates. I became more familiar with my writing style and what I tended to drop. I went in to the next deposition feeling more prepared. My mentor was proud of how well I had done and was excited to see what I could be capable in the future.
By the time I got to the end of my internship hours, I was so much more confident in not only my writing, but confident in myself. When attorneys would ask for readback, I found that my notes were generally pretty good. I learned to anticipate when an exhibit would be marked. I saw how to take control of the situation when the attorneys weren’t waiting for the exhibit to be marked before they continued with questioning, or when they were talking too fast and over each other. I saw my mentor stand up for herself and the circumstances she needed in order to get her job done and produce the best-quality transcript possible.
There were several situations that occurred that they just can’t teach you in school. There are so many scenarios and what if’s that you just can’t predict and plan for. I was so grateful for the glimpse my internship hours gave me into what it will be like to be in the real world. I became so much more confident in my writing abilities. Even my mentor noticed how much I had grown in those few months of pretending to be the real reporter. She saw my confidence grow. We shared briefs and phrases that we use, and we were surprised and excited to learn that our writing styles are very similar.
I know that there will still be countless surprises and scary situations, especially as I’m just starting out. I do feel like what I experienced during my internship gave me a good glimpse to prepare me for that. It taught me how to better handle my nerves, read my writing, control a situation, and just be proud of myself and my accomplishments. I have already passed my Written Knowledge Test; a test I was very intimidated to take. Interning helped me get over those confidence hurdles and trust in my training and my abilities. Not many people that start court reporting school get to this point. Even fewer actually graduate. I cannot wait to finish getting my certifications and get out in the working world.
ABC, NBC, CBS?? Nah...we have your fav channels right here!
http://www.ev360ultimate.com/ev360u/moodle/local/staticpage/view.php?page=[Dictation]
CCR is accredited.
It's Not Too Late!
Semester Start Date: February 18, 2019
Registration Deadline: January 15, 2019
Contact Nicky Rodriquez at 866-294-3974 ext. 222 or nicky.rodriquez@ccr.edu for more information.
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Official Court Reporter(s)
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FOR MORE INFORMATION GIVE US A CALL TODAY!
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Nicky Rodriquez
(866) 294 - 3974 ext.222
nicky.rodriquez@ccr.edu
College of Court Reporting
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Location: Valparaiso, IN, United States
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