Many people dream of attending the Olympic games, but few actually do. However, two area residents, Jenna Lebel of Biddeford and Jessica Wallner of Saco, are living that dream, thanks to Emerson College in Boston and the Olympic News Service.
Lebel, 21, is a 2003 Biddeford High School alumni and graduate student at Emerson and Wallner, 20, is a 2004 Thornton Academy graduate and an Emerson media studies major. The two are part of a group of 35 students, chosen from more than 150 applicants from Emerson, traveling to Beijing, China.
Four other colleges were also chosen by the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games to send students to the Olympics including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Missouri, Ithaca College and the University of Iowa. The five schools were recommended by officials at the Communication University of China, Emerson’s Director of International Study and External Programs David Griffin said. He said the Emerson group is the largest being sent to Beijing.
The students are scheduled to leave the U.S. July 7 and will stay in Beijing until Aug. 28 at the Communication University of China with the other U.S. college students.
The college students will work for the Olympic News Service as flash quote reporters, meaning they will interview athletes after events. Lebel said they will type quotes into an electronic device, which will be sent to a centralized media center where they will be incorporated into international news stories by reporters. Lebel said it is unlikely the quotes will be credited to her once they have been sent. The Olympic New Service has reported results of the Olympic games for more than 10 years and was established to provide the most comprehensive coverage of the games to an international audience, according to the Beijing Olympics Web site, www.beijing2008.cn.
“I’m really excited, we might have the opportunity to go to the opening and closing ceremonies,” Wallner said, adding the ceremonies will take place in the same stadium they will report from.
During the two week Summer Olympic games, the two will report on more than 30 types of track and field events as well as men’s and women’s soccer. Lebel said she does not have much experience with track and field, but said classes she has taken already have incorporated research into the athletes and countries they are from. Since they will arrive nearly a month before games begin, Lebel said she is sure there will be time for additional research.
One event Lebel said she would like to see while in Beijing is softball, a sport she played while attending Biddeford High School. Wallner said she would like to see some of the equestrian events but said they will take place in Hong Kong and said she is not sure if her visa will allow her to travel that far.
“But I want to see as much as I can,” she said.
As part of classes for the trip, Lebel said the group of Emerson students practiced reporting by attending sporting events in Boston and presenting their reports to the class. Lebel said she will receive college credit for her time in Beijing.
Before traveling, Lebel and Wallner were required to take additional courses to educate themselves about Chinese culture as well as learn to speak Mandarin, though representatives of the Olympic Committee assured them most athletes speak English, Lebel said. Learning Mandarin basics will help with day-to-day communications, she said, including how to make phone calls from China and how to order at a restaurant. She said she also learned about Chinese customs and etiquette in addition to weather trends, history and places to visit and avoid.
With the Olympics being a worldwide event, Lebel said terrorism is a concern, but not one she plans to let overwhelm her. Wallner said the weather is one of her biggest concerns because there is no air conditioning where they will stay and temperatures are typically hot and humid in the summer.
“I’m excited and nervous,” she said. “Initially, I was more nervous, but the experience is taking over. One track mind, I guess. I’m handling it OK right now. As it gets closer I might be more nervous. I think I’m prepared and I’ll feel safe because there will be heightened security in place.”
Wallner’s family all had different reactions to her travel plans.
“It was a mix of being excited and absolutely terrified. Everybody has perceptions of China,” she said. “There are a lot of conflicts going on, but it’s an amazing opportunity.”
Though she is not studying journalism, Lebel said the opportunity to attend the Olympics was too good to pass up. Lebel is currently working on her degree in integrated marketing communication.
“I think it’ll be a good opportunity to network and meet all these professionals who do this as a living,” she said.
Wallner also has limited experience with journalism. She has recently become interested in media ethics.
“I wanted to create my own piece on the protests, but I’m not going to be able to do that at all,” she said, adding the Chinese government has restricted coverage to the games. “I would like to be a part of what is going on there. It’s tough because remaining objective is a challenge, but I will try to keep in mind the values of the Olympics.”
Lebel said a donor offered funding for scholarships for the trip, so she will only need to pay airfare to and from China, which she estimated at roughly $2,000.
When she returns from Beijing at the end of August, she will have a week or so before she has to return to Emerson.
Wallner plans to attend law school and study media ethics once she receives her diploma from Emerson in the fall.  She delayed receiving her diploma so she could make the trip to China.
“The Olympics are monumental,” she said.