This summer, Colorado College students Zeke Lloyd ’24 and Michael Braithwaite ’24, with funding provided by a CC Venture Grant and the Sheffer Fund for Catholic Studies, spent a month travelling around central Europe reporting on the Ukrainian refugee crisis. They visited Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland, and reported back through stories published in the Colorado Springs and Denver Gazettes. Along the way, they kept us updated on their travels and experiences.

Post #1

In our combined two pieces of luggage, we did not bring many books. Even paperbacks are heavy and take up precious space. 

But The Art and Craft of Feature Writing by William E. Blundell was one of the few that made the cut. It is required reading for the course Reporting on Human Rights. And it was that text, along with content from other journalism classes we have taken, which inspired our five-week trip to Slovakia and Georgia. 

Here, our routine consists of adventure. We interview academic experts, community organizers, and everyday citizens. We keep our ears to the ground and build new contacts in each city we visit. 

No two days are alike. As we set out each morning to collect stories, we take only what we need. Between the both of us, we carry a small hand-held digital recorder, a notebook, a pack of gum, and two DSLR cameras.  

The information and inspiration taken from our mentors back home, along with these journalistic tools, enables us not only to write articles, but to explore Slovakia.