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University of Mississippi journalism student selected as SEC/CBS Sports Title IX Ambassador for championship game

Posted on: January 29th, 2023 by ldrucker

Loral Winn stands on a sports field.

A University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media student was recently selected as one of five SEC/CBS Sports Title IX Ambassadors for the SEC Football Championship game, a program that exposes young women to the inner workings of careers in sports journalism, media, and broadcasting.

We asked Loral Winn a few questions about herself and the opportunity before she participated in November and December.

The Dresden, Tennessee native has studied TV and video storytelling while minoring in Spanish. During her fifth year of athletic eligibility, she will work to earn her master’s degree in journalism.

And it’s also worth noting that the School of Journalism and New Media has added a sports journalism emphasis that will be available for incoming students beginning in the fall.

Q. Can you tell us a little about your background?

A. I run cross country and track here at Ole Miss, which is one of the main reasons I even began looking at the university as a potential future college. However, I fell in love with the campus and community on my official visit and was incredibly impressed by how top-tier the journalism program was at Ole Miss. I almost immediately knew it was the place I wanted to spend the next few years of my life as a student and athlete.

Q. For those who don’t understand what this opportunity is, can you explain it? How did you find out about it?

A. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) launched a celebration of Title IX in a campaign called “50 years of Title IX– Creating Opportunities” in February 2022. One of the campaign’s initiatives is the SEC’s partnership with CBS Sports to create a program called the Title IX Ambassadors. The SEC states that this program “was created to expose young women to the inner workings of careers in sports journalism, media, and broadcasting.”

I was fortunate enough with the help of Ravin Gilbert, our director of Social Responsibility and Engagement with the university’s Athletics Department, to be selected by the SEC as one of the five women who (traveled) to Atlanta, Georgia to cover the SEC Football Championship Nov. 30 – Dec. 3.

Ravin does a wonderful job of assisting every student athlete here at Ole Miss in finding exemplary internships and opportunities as well as jobs after graduation. She is exceptional at her position and has helped me to get my foot in the door with the SEC and in finding opportunities as a hopeful future sports broadcaster. I have been able to do some really neat things with her help.

I will be shadowing CBS producers, directors, on-air talent, operation leads and executives while being able to interact with and ask questions about their jobs and positions throughout the day when covering a championship game.

Q. What did you hope to gain or take away from participating?

A. This is an incredibly unique opportunity for me to be able to meet and converse with individuals who work in television and sports broadcasting, which can be difficult to do as a student. It is not often that you are given the chance to sit down with CBS Sports producers, directors, and broadcasters and pick their brains. I am most excited to learn from the people I shadow and to have an in-depth, up close look at what goes into covering a major sporting event.

I will spend several days in Atlanta, which means I will follow the same schedule that CBS on-air talent does as they interview coaches and players and prepare for covering the game well. I am truly so excited for the opportunity and plan to soak up all of the knowledge that I possibly can. This is a great stepping stone for the career that I desire to pursue after graduation as a sports reporter and broadcaster.

UM grad Maria Martin still winning the game as sports anchor, reporter at 11Alive in Atlanta

Posted on: January 24th, 2022 by ldrucker

Maria Martin, a University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media graduate, has been in the game of sports reporting since graduating in 2014. Her latest win is working at 11Alive, WXIA-TV in Atlanta.

“I am a sports anchor and reporter,” she said. “I have a podcast, a 30-minute sports show every Sunday, and the daily responsibilities and grind of being in a top market.”

A native of the West Palm Beach, Florida area, Martin graduated from UM in 2014, earning a degree in broadcast journalism with a minor in English.

“After I graduated from UM, I moved back home and worked three different jobs trying to break into the sports industry whatever way possible,” she said. “I worked in the University of Miami communications department doing everything from shooting practice video to doing sit-down interviews with players during fall camp.”

Maria Martin

Martin also worked at “SEC on CBS” as a production assistant, traveling the country with the team and learning from the sideline reporter. At ESPN West Palm on WPTV, she was involved in both radio and television, preparing for an opportunity.

“A coworker of mine at WPTV told me I really needed to go somewhere where I got on-camera opportunities every day,” she said, “so I took the leap and did exactly that. I built my reel up and found my next landing spot to be Montgomery, Alabama with WSFA. This was my first full-time on-air position in the television business, and I was the weekend sports anchor and reporter.”

Martin stayed there for three years.

“It was the best decision I ever made professionally and personally,” she said. “I grew exponentially being on camera consistently every day. I covered three straight national championships, three straight SEC championships, a Final Four, a College World Series, multiple first-round draft picks in the NFL, and even the first overall pick in MLB.”

Martin said it was an incredible ride with a lot of national sports exposure and experience.

“I genuinely believe that having small market experience is crucial for young journalists,” she said.

From there, Martin took the job at 11Alive, WXIA-TV in Atlanta where much is expected daily.

“I am never not busy at work, especially in a sports market like Atlanta,” she said. “I’m always either live on location, turning a feature story, aiming to break sports news, anchoring shows, or working on long-form projects.”

Martin hosts a 30-minute sports show every Sunday called “Sports Extra,” featuring several guests who have in-depth conversations about sports teams in the market.

“Traditionally, it has been radio personalities, former athletes and beat writers in the market,” she said. “This year, I’ve started to push the show a step further and get coaches, current athletes and general managers on to keep the rotation of guests exciting.”

She also created her own podcast called “Married to the Game,” for which she “interviews coaches’ and athletes’ wives to show the side of sports the average fan never gets to hear from.”

“I am a football coach’s wife,” she said, “so it is easy for me to be empathetic towards the difficult, but an incredible lifestyle that comes with that.”

Martin said challenges in her industry include traveling a lot for work, and many companies don’t pay beginning journalists well compared to the long hours they put in. She often works until midnight or later and on holidays. Free weekends are rare in sports, she said.

Her advice to other industry professionals: Find what makes you unique and use that to your advantage.

“Find your own voice,” she said. “Oftentimes, when you’re just getting started as a journalist, you try to replicate what someone else is doing or has done. The moment you find your own voice is when you can start honing in on your craft and pushing yourself to new heights professionally.”

Tip #2: Jump out of your comfort zone often.

“It only helps you become more well-rounded as a journalist,” she said. “Don’t take yourself too seriously. I am as passionate as they come when it comes to sports journalism, and I truly hope that’s evident by you watching even two minutes of my work, but I am incredibly blessed to do this every day.

“It’s a lot of work. I’ve worked incredibly hard to get to where I am and where I know I’m going. But I’m talking about sports and meeting incredible people every day. This job is rewarding and fun, and I hope you remember that, especially when it gets hard.”

Her advice to students: Throw yourself at every opportunity that arises in college.

“That also means not putting yourself in one box when it comes to journalism,” she said. “Bosses want to know you can do it all these days. The more people you can connect with and show that you’re driven and eager to learn, the better off you are when it comes to getting a job.”

Another tip for students is: Always be willing to take criticism.

“It’s how you will grow,” she said. “Understand that this job takes tremendous sacrifice. I graduated in 2014, and after this football season will be the first time in my entire career I will have Friday and Saturday off. Sports are on the weekends. Sports happen on holidays. It’s incredibly rewarding, but just make sure you’re passionate about it.”

Her last tip: Be kind.

“Above all else, kindness wins in this industry,” she said. “It helps you break stories, build relationships, and climb the ladder in this wild business. I love talking to young, aspiring journalists, so please reach out to me.”

You can find Martin on LinkedIn.

Student Column: My First Hotty Toddy experience was during the 2020 pandemic

Posted on: November 17th, 2020 by ldrucker

Before transferring to Ole Miss this semester, I was not yet a Rebels fan. I am originally from Louisiana, and my family collectively roots for one team, and one team only. That should explain why I was not a Hotty Toddy-chanting fan. But attending my first Ole Miss football game quickly changed my mind.

The game was the highly anticipated game against Alabama. The Rebels were going up against the #2 team, and it was the first time Head Coach Lane Kiffin was playing the team he had previously coached.

I had been excited about the game for weeks because there is no team I despise more than Alabama. I remember being in one of my Zoom classes when tickets went on sale. We had a little break during class, and I immediately logged into my student account to purchase a ticket.

While I was securing the ticket, the site asked if I wanted to purchase insurance for the ticket. In my mind, I thought, “There is nothing that would stop me from going to this game,” so I opted out of insurance purchase.

To my surprise, there was a tropical storm threatening the Gulf Coast later that evening. The storm developed into a hurricane overnight. Since the storm was in its early stages, I had little worry about the storm affecting the game.

Throughout the week, Hurricane Delta strengthened and was projected to make landfall on the Mississippi and Louisiana coast nearing the weekend. I still did not think the storm was going to affect any elements of the game. I didn’t even think Oxford would see any rain leading up to the game weekend.

I was wrong. The hurricane moved quickly throughout the Gulf Coast, causing the kickoff time to be moved to 6:30 p.m. instead of the original time of 5 p.m. Hurricane Delta made landfall Oct. 9, just one day before the game.

Because of all the rain Oxford was receiving, I was now afraid the game would get cancelled. For 24 hours, I felt angry with myself for not purchasing insurance for the ticket. With three hours left before kickoff, I still wondered if the game would be cancelled due to the storm.

It made me very anxious, but I was already anxious for many reasons. I was going to the football game alone, and it would be the first time I was going to a highly populated event during the pandemic.

Like I was doing all week, I was keeping an eye out for the storm. An hour before the game, the rain lightened up, and the winds died down. Fortunately, the game did not get canceled. The rain stopped 10 minutes after kickoff.

Walking into Vaught-Hemingway Stadium eased my anxiety. Seeing most people wearing a mask or face covering also calmed me a little. The feeling of being at a football game had my adrenaline pumping.

My excitement for the game tried to mask the fear of contracting the virus during the game, but it was always in the back of my mind. I kept my mask on the entire game and often sanitized my hands.

The first time the student section did the Hotty Toddy chant felt so natural to me. I had never done it before, but I surprised myself when I knew all the words. I finally felt like I belonged at Ole Miss.

It was so surreal to be at the game during these times. The game itself was one of the best games I have ever seen. The Ole Miss Rebels kept up with the Crimson Tide throughout the first half of the game, even scoring the first touchdown of the night.

At halftime, the score was tied at 21. Each team’s offense demonstrated explosive plays. The entire game was a shootout game. The game was even tied at 42 in the last quarter.

The Rebels fell short to the Crimson Tide with the final score of 48-63. Although the Rebels lost the game, there were plenty of records set.

The combined 111 points is the highest scoring game in SEC history. The Ole Miss football team had a total of 647 yards, marking the most yards the Alabama defense has ever given up.

There were many emotions felt during the game. My emotions ranged from anxious to excited to defeat and eventually to happy. I was so happy to have witness such a great game in a safe manner, and I had a lot a fun. Even though I went to the game by myself, I never felt alone.

This game made me feel like I am finally part of the Ole Miss family. I believe Ole Miss now has me as a fan for life. Hotty Toddy!

Lindsey Trinh is a junior journalism major with specializations in sports promotions and a minor in digital media studies. She is originally from Houma, Louisiana.

Trinh is the oldest of three and the only girl. Her interests are sports and music. She enjoys listening to hip hop and electronic music. One of her favorite things to do is to go to music festivals or shows with friends.

For the past two years, she has been a part of Winter Circle Productions and BUKU Music + Arts Project’s promotion team. Her favorite NFL team is the New Orleans Saints, and her favorite NBA player is Kevin Durant.

During her breaks from school, she enjoys traveling to big cities such as Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Houston. She also loves spending days inside with her cat, Chai. She says her style is inspired by streetwear.

Trinh is a part of the creative team for Square Magazine, the student-run magazine at the University of Mississippi, and a reporter for Oxford Stories. When she graduates, she would like to work with a sports or music organization in either marketing or journalism.

UM journalism graduate perfects skills behind the scenes of ESPN Network

Posted on: September 27th, 2018 by ldrucker

Born and raised an Ole Miss fan, 2016 graduate Catherine Carroon followed generations of family members to Rebel Nation before beginning her career in the world of sports through the University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media.

Although she was not 100 percent set on Ole Miss, she said she decided to attend the university due to its impeccable journalism program.

Carroon embarked on her journalism journey her freshman year; however, she quickly switched her major to the school’s integrated marketing communications program.

The decision to switch career paths came from her passion for sports. She said she knew she didn’t want a career in sports writing, but since the school did not offer sports marketing, IMC became the best decision.

“I thought [IMC] would be the closest thing to get me near that track,” Carroon said.

While attending the university, Carroon had her first taste of experience through ESPN as a “runner” for College Gameday. That behind-the-scenes experience influenced her to hone in on sports operations.

“ESPN was one of those things I always thought ‘there is a one-in-a-million special person’ who would get the job there,” Carroon said. “I never thought it would be obtainable.” Photo courtesy of Carroon.

Carroon furthered her skill set in sport operations by working in the university’s control room—an operations sports program run by ESPN for a majority of SEC universities.

Upon graduation, Carroon said she was unsure what her next steps would be. However, one of the coordinating producers, Meg Aronowitz, sent a mass email to all the SEC control rooms regarding an operations internship in Bristol, Connecticut.

One of the ESPN control room contacts informed Carroon and encouraged her to apply, she said.

“ESPN was one of those things I always thought ‘there is a one-in-a-million special person’ who would get the job there,” Carroon said. “I never thought it would be obtainable.”

Now as a operations coordinator in her third year at the network, Carroon said she can link the framework of her success back to her Ole Miss experiences.

Although her classes in sports and journalism taught her educational information she uses day to day, Carroon credits her time at the university’s control room for her hands on experience in sports. From interacting with producers to handling film, the experience gave her a bird’s eye view on how to work in sports operations.

Carroon has covered a plethora of sports since her stint at ESPN. From the Sunday night MLB package to working on Olympic Sports, there aren’t many sports the young journalist hasn’t covered.

By Talbert Toole, lifestyles editor of HottyToddy.com.

From Mississippi to Wisconsin: A School of Journalism and New Media graduate’s journey to the Green Bay Packers

Posted on: September 15th, 2018 by ldrucker

Becoming a book editor had always been a dream for recent School of Journalism and New Media graduate Hannah Fields. However, fate worked its way into her life to lead her down a different career path.

Originally from Jonesboro, Arkansas, Fields moved to Clinton, Mississippi, where she obtained her bachelor’s degree in English writing at Mississippi College (MC) with hopes of landing a job among book editors in Nashville.

Before attending The University of Mississippi, Hannah Fields received her bachelor’s degree in English writing at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi. Photo courtesy of Hannah Fields.

She searched for jobs in the publishing industry, but came up empty handed. She said she learned that lack of networking gave her a setback chasing her editorial dream. With her background in English writing, Fields was able to land a job as a sports columnist for Rantsports.com—a professional and college sports website—which allowed her to sustain a living in her new city.

“I was covering the Tennessee Titans and some SEC football,” she said.

Before landing the job as a sports columnist, she said she never really had a passion for football until she was introduced to the sport while attending MC. Realizing the popularity of the sport within her friend group, Fields had to jump on board if she wanted to spend quality time with her friends.

“I didn’t know a lot about [football],” she said, “But when I started writing that sports column it reinforced this idea that I wanted to work in sports.”

While reading Paul Finebaum and Gene Wojciechowski’s book, “My Conference Can Beat Your Conference,” Fields started to regret not attending an SEC school with her newfound love for football. She said she wasn’t going to make a career out of her sports column, and becoming a homebody while writing allowed depression to creep in. She realized she needed to make another career change.

Fields said she gained the confidence to follow her new passion after becoming more sports-confident.

“I said ‘I know enough to write this sports column, so why don’t I know enough to work for an [NFL] team?’” she said.

Steps In the Right Direction

Leaving the Music City behind, Fields was on a search for not only a graduate program to further her newfound career, but one with a football program she could grow to love and support.

After looking at several SEC schools with programs in the journalism field and competitive football teams, it was only natural she chose The University of Mississippi since her sister attended Rebel Nation for her undergraduate degree.

“I knew Oxford and the campus,” she said. “Then Ole Miss also had integrated marketing communications (IMC), which turned out to be the perfect fit for what I wanted to do…plus it got me back to Mississippi.”

Fields visited the School of Journalism and New Media to sit in on a variety of IMC classes, including mobile and social media marketing, which cemented her decision to attend Ole Miss.

Fields thoroughly immersed herself in the program by writing class papers on women in sports, said Chris Sparks, associate professor of IMC.

“She is a great example of someone who sets a goal and goes after it,” Sparks said. “She decided she wanted to be in sports marketing at the beginning of her first year in the graduate program at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media and committed to making it happen.”

Sparks said Fields is an excellent example of someone who not only followed her dream but made it happen.

Fields graduated from the IMC program in May 2018 with the goal of being a social media coordinator for an NFL team in sight. Upon graduation, Fields applied for a position with the NFL Green Bay Packers through teamworkonline.com—a website designated to connect people to sports jobs with professional sports teams.

Having experience through an internship with the WNBA Atlanta Dream, along with her background in writing, Fields expertly landed the job. She now had her foot in the door working her dream job in the NFL.

Now as the e-commerce marketing intern for the Packers, Fields assists with promotional marketing for the Packers Pro Shop—the official retail store of the National Football League’s Green Bay Packers since 1989. She said she has mostly been writing copy for products, emails and social media.

“Hopefully this will be a launching pad from which I can do what I want to do, which is social media,” she said.

Reminiscing Over Her Roots

Although she’s on track in her dream field, Fields said there are many things she does miss about the South and Mississippi, such as the southern hospitality.

She said Southerners like herself are known for being extroverts, which seems to be lacking in her new Midwestern home.

Wisconsin might be known for its cheese and dairy, but according to Fields, midwesterners do not relish in starches, carbs and savory delights like their southern neighbors. She said the difference in food variety was something she expected when she made the move to the cheese state, but she didn’t realize it was something that would be so drastically different.

“Little stuff like food… you don’t realize is unique to where you live until you move out of [your state],” she said.

Fields might miss the warm temperatures, sweet tea and foods indicative to Mississippi, but she said she’s excited to embark on a new journey to achieve her goals as a social media coordinator in the NFL.

By Talbert Toole, Hotty Toddy lifestyles editor.

School of Journalism and New Media grad talks about his sports industry career providing On Location Experiences

Posted on: April 27th, 2018 by ldrucker

Baltimore native Herb May, a former University of Mississippi student, returned to the Meek School this week to talk about his job with On Location Experiences. May said the company is the official hospitality partner of the NFL, and he works as a manager in premium sales, selling NFL and sports experiences to diehard fans and corporate entities who host high level clients.

May, who attended a boarding school in Connecticut before becoming an Ole Miss student, said he came to UM because he was a football fan and wanted to have an NFL-related job. He worked for the Ole Miss Football Team as a recruiting and coach assistant his first year before becoming involved with Sigma Nu fraternity.

“I had a really great relationship with Scott Fiene,” he said, “and he was really helpful in guiding me where to look and what classes to take to get me through school. It was the best four and a half years of my life.”

Fiene is the assistant dean for curriculum and assessment and assistant professor of integrated marketing communications.

May said he learned there were many job opportunities in the world and decided to stop limiting himself. But after learning about a position with On Location Experiences through a connection with another Sigma Nu fraternity brother, he returned to his original career path seeking an NFL-related job. He said he was “perfectly persistent” when requesting a job interview with the company.

May said On Location Experiences owns a number of subsidiary companies, including businesses in the travel and entertainment industry. “It’s a full service, one-stop shop company that curates a premium experience around the NFL.” The corporate office is located in New York, but they are also establishing a presence in Atlanta.

May’s career advice? He encourages students to familiarize themselves with LinkedIn and use it as a tool to network with professionals. He said the after-college job search can be overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to start job seeking long before you graduate.

He tells students to pick five industries, five job roles, and five cities, and narrow down their search. He said don’t overlook small companies because they enable you to network with the heads of companies and other leaders within the company who may think of you when they move on to another job.

It’s also important to be humble. “Guys who have a certain degree and have done certain internships, but who are not willing to do the grunt work – get the coffees, get the mail, and do all that stuff – that’s where people lose jobs.”

May said he has prospective clients in Oxford, and as the company grows, they could be hiring in the future. He described his ideal employee.

“I need to have someone that I cannot only have a relationship with and be a mentor to, but that I can also be firm with when there is a mistake,” he said. “It should be someone who I could show why there is a mistake, how to improve it, and what I would have done differently. And I need someone on the other side of the table to be receptive to that.”

Local podcast creators speak at UM

Posted on: April 16th, 2018 by ldrucker

Chase Parham and Neal McCready, hosts of the Oxford Exxon Podcast, spoke at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media this week.

The hosts of a Mississippi sports talk podcast that has been called Yahoo.com’s largest college-centric podcast talked to students about how they created and have grown their podcast.

The two spoke to journalism students during a class led by Meek School journalism instructor Summer Hill-Vinson, Ph.D.

Beatty works behind the scenes for the Ole Miss Rebels

Posted on: November 14th, 2017 by ldrucker

Videographer, journalist and social media guru are all words used to describe Kayla Beatty. Beatty is a senior at the University of Mississippi and in her second year working for Ole Miss Athletics in production.

As a journalism student, she has gained essential skills for working professionally in the field. As a main videographer for Ole Miss Athletics, Beatty has worked every sports event at Ole Miss. Her favorite sport is basketball, but not always.

“I grew up watching soccer,” she said. “I knew nothing about football, basketball or baseball.

She quickly learned the sports and now sometimes thinks she could coach them. Beatty works on a team of roughly nine to 12 people. Half of them are students. This a paid job, but her first year counted as internship credit.

“While I may not go into the sports production field, the skills and opportunities I have been given are out of this world,” said Beatty.

Before every basketball game, the team of videographers meet two hours before to begin testing equipment. There are multiple cameras around the Pavilion to get high and low shots. They check lighting, sound and angles to get the perfect shot at game time.

An hour before the game begins, they get into position. They start getting clips of the crowd, and the teams warm up. The team films everything that spectators see in the arena and what is posted throughout the game on social media.

Everything that the cameras in the arena pick up is sent immediately to the control room. There, staff members operate music, lights and everything you see on the jumbotron. They also quickly make graphics for social media and talk with SEC Sports.

“We all have headsets on so we know what we all are doing,” Beatty. “Communication is key in the industry.”

Beatty’s favorite video to capture is when she follows the ball closely on camera and gets the angle as it lands in the net. She uses a “slash camera” to achieve this. This was one of the hardest skills to perfect. She said she is still learning.

Videography and photography is all about practicing. When she first started, she shadowed an existing staff member to learn the basics.

“They take baby steps so they can ensure you will know everything before you are on your own,” she said. “A lot of basic skills I taught myself on my iPhone.”

After shadowing someone with experience, the videographers are on their own. After about a year, they usually end up having a shadow or “buddy” to teach.

Beatty said the most important piece of advice is know your equipment. Supervisor Hank Lena is their main support. Lena works the control room and is in charge of the team during the game.

“The staff is so talented,” Lena said. “They are always eager to learn. For my students, I am here to make sure they are getting the knowledge they will need to continue a career in production and journalism.”

Another favorite part of the job for Beatty is creating graphics for Ole Miss sports teams’ social media. Within minutes of the live footage, the staff sends Tweets, Instagram posts and Snapchats.

A great part of working for Ole Miss productions is they allow everyone to rotate positions. Everyone may have their preference, but they are given the opportunity to use a high camera, low camera or work in the control room. Staff is exposed to videography, still photography and social media.

“I get to play with toys and get paid,” said Beatty. “I get to work with the best cameras and equipment in the industry.”

Work does not feel like work when it is doing something you love. Everyday is different working in production.

“I love what I get to do for a living, so hiring people that are also so passionate about journalism is the best part,” said Lena.

A lot of hard work goes into what looks easy to the average viewer at a sporting event. From preparation to putting all the footage together at the end, students and staff move quickly.

Beatty said she wishes she had known about this job earlier in her college career because of the skills she has learned and the connections and people she has met. She hopes to continue learning as much as she can this upcoming basketball season.

By Kelly Zeidner
Oxford Stories
knzeidne@go.olemiss.edu

School’s broadcast students work sidelines for ESPN/SECN

Posted on: October 15th, 2017 by ldrucker

Broadcast journalism students Annie Mapp and Kirsten Faulkner were on the sidelines of the Ole Miss vs. Vanderbilt game Saturday, Oct. 14, working the parabolic mic for the ESPN/SECN broadcast.

The mic is used to enhance the noise from the field to make those watching at home feel like they are at the game.

Meek School students are regularly invited to work as runners, production assistants and utility workers alongside the main production crews for sports telecasts.

It’s a great way to learn, earn a little money and have fun.

“I enjoyed every minute of it,” Faulkner said.