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DSU Student Interned in Washington for the summer

Madison – Joe Firman, a senior at Dakota State University majoring in Fine Arts Administration with a minor in Information Systems, spent his summer in Washington, DC, completely immersed in the proceedings of the 104th Congress and the 1996 campaign excitement.

Firman was a radio intern for the United State Senate Democratic Technology and Communications Committee (DTCC). The DTCC is a fully integrated multimedia production center for the Democratic Senators as part of the Democratic Leadership Committee. “I worked primarily in radio production with a great staff producing radio shows and the Daily Democratic News Line. I would tape events, select clips from the senators, and work with the senator's press secretaries to get the news out to the public in each state on a daily basis,” said Firman. He also spent time working with television productions. He worked with the staff of the DTCC to produce news feeds for broadcast and cable television stations. “My first opportunity to work in television production was when I operated a television camera for a join broadcast of Senator Daschle and Congressman Johnson back to South Dakota. It was thrilling to be able to watch our legislators hard at work in DC,” said Firman.

One of Firman's other responsibilities was to work with the Democratic radio voice mail system. He was responsible for helping senators and their press secretaries put out information to their local radio stations. For South Dakota, Firman was involved in the production of Senator Daschle's Daily Dugouts. “Each day Senator Daschle would hold a Dugout, I would be recording it for use on radio stations in South Dakota and around the country. It was exciting to be part of the Senate and the Washington Press Core at the same time.”

He found his DSU education came in very handy in Washington. When he began his internship, the DTTC was just starting to experiment in digital audio editing and before he left, the committee was doing all of its radio productions on the computer. “My education at DSU prepared me to work with the DTCC and the Democratic press secretaries using the newest technology, and it gave me the knowledge to help the committee implement full radio productions using digital audio editing,” said Firman.

“My most memorable moment of my internship was when I was asked to go to the Democratic National Convention to work with the Democratic News Service. I had the opportunity to shake President Clinton's hand ,” said Firman. He also had the opportunity to meet and work with all of the Democratic senators, including Senator Ted Kennedy, Senator Paul Simon, Senator Patty Murray, Senator Jay Rockefeller, and our own Senator Tom Daschle. “I learned a great deal about our government and I hope to see the campus and all Americans become more involved with our government on all levels.”

Upon returning to Dakota State this Fall, Firman continued to serve as a Student Senator. He also began his own business, Firman Productions, where he is working in sound engineering for television, radio, and theater productions. His business also works in the design and operations of theater lighting technologies.

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