From The Daily Helmsman to the Associated Press

A lens shutter clicks.

Adjust the lens focus.

Arms lifted as if just completing an Olympic marathon, head coach for the University of Memphis Tigers Tommy West is hoisted onto the shoulders of his gargantuan players. A roaring mass of blue and gray explodes in the New Orleans Superdome. With pride beaming from him like rays from a lighthouse in the blanket of night, the shutter snaps closed once more.

Got the shot.

Julia Weeks, a photographer for The Daily Helmsman, captures the excitement and triumph in this solitary moment as she too feels the flutter of joy with her team's win.

"I've always liked the Tigers, so it was just an added bonus to be able to combine two of my passions," said Weeks, now photo editor for the Associated Press in New York City.  "I am a huge sports fan so being able to go to the games and network with the different photographers was always exciting."

"When I first came on board, being new to the journalism world and finding my way was probably the toughest," Weeks recalled. "But having professors who were always encouraging me to go out and do what I wanted was a huge help. The instructors, with their knowledge and resources to different opportunities, were great."

Weeks' happy memories of her days as a Helmsman photographer are not all work and no play.

 "One time I was traveling with editors and writers to cover the Memphis Tigers in Dallas. I don't even remember if we won or lost the game, but that night we went out and rode a mechanical bull," she said with a giggle. "It was the camaraderie with others in journalism that was most memorable."

After graduating from The University of Memphis, Weeks landed a prestigious internship at Newsday that took her more than a thousand miles north to New York.

 "When I moved to New York, I ended up falling in love with this city," she said. "Six years later I'm still here."

Weeks gives The Daily Helmsman some of the credit for her success.

 "The hands-on experience at The Helmsman gave me access to events and a great platform for getting in touch with people," she said.  "Even to this day, that still helps at the Associated Press with digging up names and contact information."

Weeks still gets to travel sometimes, but the destinations are a bit more exotic than those of her Helmsman days.

"Just this February, I was editing photos at the Oscars, and this summer the AP flew me out to the south of France to edit photos for the Cannes Film Festival. It was amazing."

While her job usually consists of editing photos, occasionally Weeks still shoots her own photos in the field.

"I have a really great manager who encourages us to still go out and shoot photos even as an editor," she said. "Now, I have access to press passes, giving me opportunities to get through police barricades and things like that. In June of this year, I was at the Senate Chamber in Albany (N.Y.) to take photos as they legalized gay marriage in New York."

"To be a part of something, often times, so historic, has really been an incredible experience."