My SCEC experience was, in many ways, vastly different from all the other interns that gave SCEC their time this summer. When I was hired back in January, all I really knew about earthquakes came from a single environmental science class and the few nuggets of “information” I’d picked up in the past 19 years in Los Angeles; I’m not an advanced computer science student or a geology major. However, I realized what an important issue earthquakes are in California, and wanted to use this summer to do some good while I gained some of the writing experience I’ll need for a future in journalism. SCEC was an incredibly valuable experience for me, as I was able to learn about earthquakes from some of the best professors USC has to offer, and take what I had learned to the public.

Although research would likely be the wrong word, my work this summer was spent in a variety of ways focused on getting the word out about earthquake preparedness and, of course, the Great Southern California ShakeOut, the largest earthquake drill in U.S. History. In addition to answering public inquiries about earthquake preparedness and earthquakes in general (many of which, I was surprised to find, were shockingly misinformed), much of my time was spent creating web content that could promote the ShakeOut and encourage people to register.

With some guidance from Mark Benthien and John Bwarie of the City of Los Angeles, I created a web presence for the ShakeOut on Facebook, Myspace, LinkedIn, Bebo, and, most importantly, the ShakeOut Blog (greatsocalshakeout.blogspot.com), which delivers news and updates about the ShakeOut and preparedness regularly. In addition to the articles posted on the blog, a number of “sample articles” were created in order to give newsletters and magazines throughout the region a pre-written article that could be included in their publications. My role as a leader of the web presence for the ShakeOut meant that I was invited to the ShakeOut Steering Committee meetings, which was an exciting experience that allowed me to gain insight into how major events such as the ShakeOut are organized by non-profits.

This summer was a great experience and I’m so glad that I was able to help my community while still gaining experience in the field I’m interested in. The only downside? Explaining to people why the Triangle of Life shouldn’t be used…over, and over, and over, and over, and over……