I had a two-week internship in Salt Lake City, Utah at KSL 5 TV. It was such an amazing experience since I had never been to the state of Utah and was warned of the state's cultural differences. Coming from the bible belt of Oklahoma and a state flatter than a pancake, seeing the mountains every day from my window was a surreal experience!

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Interned at KSL 5 TV

KSL-TV, virtual channel 5 is an NBC-affiliated television station licensed to Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the leading television property of Bonneville International, the for-profit broadcasting arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS Church).

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I learned what an inversion was.

In a temperature inversion, the situation "inverts," and cold air at the surface gets trapped under a layer of warmer air. Utah inversions often occur after a snowstorm. The snow cover makes the air colder near the ground, and the clear skies warm the upper atmosphere… its quite a sight!

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I saw the high school where all three High School Musical movies were filmed!

Hello Troy Bolton! I was out on a story with a KSL photog and we drove by actual East High where Troy and Gabriella met, had their first kiss and eventually graduated! I was so dumbfounded and it was a sweet surprise considering I had just re-watched the movies a month beforehand. My elementary school self was screaming inside!

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I learned where Ted Bundy resided during his time in Salt Lake City.

Yes, I'm talking about the infamous serial killer. A whole 7-minute drive from where I interned at, Ted Bundy had multiple victims and even escaped from jail in this valley city I was walking. While Bundy did admit to eight murders in Utah and 30 overall just before his death, it became abundantly clear not long after that he hadn't been truthful during his several confessions.

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Walked around the famous temple square and learned about the Mormon religion.

Attracting 3 million to 5 million visitors a year, Temple Square is the most popular tourist attraction in Utah, bringing in more visitors than the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone National Park. The Salt Lake Temple is the largest and best-known of the 160 operating Latter-Day-Saints Temples.

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Saw multiple locations where the 2002 Winter Olympics were held.

Utah became the fifth state in the United States to host the Olympic Games and the 2002 Winter Olympics were the last Olympics to be held in the United States until the 2028 summer Olympics in Los Angeles, CA. Salt Lake City became the most populous area ever to have hosted the Winter Olympics, although the two subsequent host cities' populations were larger.

Ate at the famous Red Iguana Mexican Restaurant.

Well… we ate at the second restaurant because its so popular they had to make 2! Nonetheless, there is always a crowd waiting on foot or benches outside the door, even in the middle of winter, and when it gets cold, the staff is known to pass hot cider to those patiently waiting. On a low-season Wednesday night, the wait for four was more than an hour, and on weekends it typically reaches two hours.

Met the host of the Cold Podcast.

If you know me... you know I'm a huge true crime podcast fan. I met Cold host Dave Cawley and picked his brain a bit as he attempts to find answers for Susan Powell Case Files: The Untold Story. Susan Powell vanished on Dec. 7, 2009. Her body has never been found. From the beginning, West Valley City, Utah police suspected Susan's husband, Josh Powell, had murdered her. They never arrested him. COLD dives deep into the case files, uncovering never-before-heard details.

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Visited Antelope Island

Antelope Island State Park is a Utah State Park and the entire island is included in the park. Antelope Island is surrounded by the Great Salt Lake. The lake is extremely salty, with salt levels reaching as much as 25% of the lake. There is nothing but salt plains as far as the eye can see. I also saw buffalo in person for the first time!

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Had my first helicopter ride!

Although I'm terrified of heights… this was by far one of my favorite experiences. I flew 10,000 feet up in the Chopper 5 while we got a shot for the 5 o'clock newscast. I almost didn't go and I'm so glad that the photog Josh that I was with pushed me to go because it was speechless. I was flying over the prettiest mountains and scenery.

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I had so many other experiences with all the wonderful people I met, but these were the ones that were easiest to write about. I'm so glad Storme and I got this experience! I hope to go back and visit Salt Lake this summer and see/do all the things that weren't within reach this time. Two weeks came and flew.

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A HUGE shoutout to Bob Dickey, Barbara Merckx, Ken Fischer, Lee Reynolds, and Dean Ed Kelley for making this opportunity happen! Special shoutout to Lance Hope (intern director), Josh Szymanik, Brett Utley, Rebecca Cressman, Morgan Wilkins, Jeff Smith, Aley Davis, Jed Boal, Andrew Adams, Michael Williams, and Audrey Brandin plus anyone I left out. You guys welcomed me with open arms and showed me the most beautiful ins and out of KSL and Utah as a state. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!