Sonia Su will be back in Maryland this summer and will intern with Patch.
But right now, the Boston University journalism student is in her dormroom, following the events transpiring following Monday's bombing via Twitter and through her dorm window.
"My bed is right next to the window so I kept looking out [at the city] and thinking, 'Wow, it's completely empty,'" she said. "If I see a truck passing by, I'm wondering, 'Why is that truck even on the street?' My alert level is definitely raised."
Su, who grew up in Laurel and moved to Clarksville, where she attended Atholton High, will work with Patch this summer in the Baltimore metro area. She's been following the coverage closely since Monday, when she attended the Boston Marathon briefly before the bombings took place.
"I was out there one or two hours before it happened," she said. "Thankfully, I returned to my dorm before it actually happened. My roomate walked in and told me how they were closing one of the [subway] stations. I went on Twitter and found out what was going on."
Since then, she's been glued to Twitter, which has been her primary way of getting live updates to the unfolding situation.
"I remember thinking [Thursday night], 'Wow, I don't think any of us are going to get any sleep at this point.' Around 2 a.m., I just had to fall asleep," Su said. "Even when I woke up, I went to following the news. Now, I can't go back to sleep. It's crazy how all this is happening."
Her university was closed Friday morning when she spoke with Patch. She said last semester, the school was closed during Hurricane Sandy. There was talk on campus early Friday morning, she said, of food deliveries for students in the dorms.
"It's definitely crazy. Everything is moving so quickly," she said. "You'd obviously never expect something like this. It's crazy how social media plays a role in this. I just don't have words."