When Penelope Jennings, a senior journalism and history major, first heard about Battleground Virginia, she knew it was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up. As The Eagle’s Sports Managing Editor and an active member of AU Student Media, she was already familiar with the thrill of reporting on deadline. But this class, a hands-on political journalism experience, offered something entirely different.

“I originally wanted to take the course because I had a bunch of friends who took the New Hampshire [presidential] primary version in 2024,” Jennings said. “They all spoke so highly of it.” Hearing their stories about interviewing voters and watching democracy unfold in real time convinced her to dive in.

The course, a partnership between SOC and the School of Public Affairs, has a short but selective application process, designed to find students who are ready to hit the ground running in a real-world reporting environment. Once accepted, students spend weeks preparing before heading to Virginia for an immersive reporting trip.

From November 1–5, Jennings and her classmates will be constantly on the move - covering campaign events, interviewing voters, and filing stories under tight deadlines. The fully funded trip, with all travel and hotel expenses covered by an generous donor, allows them to focus entirely on the reporting experience.

Now, with election day approaching, Jennings is eager to step out from behind her laptop and into the heart of Virginia’s political landscape. “I’m most excited to go out on election day and speak to voters,” she said. “Getting to talk to new people who I otherwise wouldn't have met is one of my favorite parts of journalism.”

For Jennings, journalism has always been about connection. Whether covering AU athletics or writing features for local newspapers, she thrives on hearing people’s stories and finding the humanity behind every headline. In Battleground Virginia, she’s hoping to learn what issues matter most to Virginians in this year’s historic gubernatorial race between two women candidates. “I’m looking forward to asking voters which specific issues bring them out to vote,” she said. “I’d love to talk to people who voted early, too, and hear why they made that choice instead of waiting for election day.”

Preparation for the trip has been a mix of research and relationship-building. Jennings has been keeping up with the latest news on the major races and spending time getting to know her classmates better. “We’ve been preparing these reporting skills for years now in our classes,” she explained. “But this is the moment to put them into practice.”

Still, she knows challenges lie ahead. “The biggest challenge will probably be navigating a place and community I’m not from or super familiar with,” she admitted. “It can be hard to connect with people on local issues when you don’t have that shared background.”

For Jennings, Battleground Virginia is more than just another class. It’s a proving ground, a chance to test her instincts, sharpen her reporting, and bring local voices to a new audience.

“We can simulate deadlines in class,” she said, “but this is the chance to do it for real, with the news developing around us. Hopefully, we’ll even get to see our work published in professional outlets.”

And when the students return to D.C., the work doesn’t stop. The class continues after election day, as students turn their experiences into final projects - from short documentaries and multimedia stories to research papers and reflective essays.