Seventeen-year-old Adam put ink to paper when thinking about his wish with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Utah. He wrote, “I grew up listening to NPR. I woke up with Bob Edwards and Carl Kasell. I spent my afternoons with Robert Siegel and Noah Adams. I spent my Saturdays laughing with Click and Clack, and made sure not to miss ‘Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me.’” Adam’s love for NPR, which is National Public Radio, and his desire to match faces to his favorite voices prompted him to ask wish granters to make him an NPR reporter.

The budding journalist traveled to Washington, D.C., to become an NPR reporter for two-and-a-half days at the organization’s headquarters. Before meeting his NPR co-workers though, Adam toured some of the most famous government buildings in the world, including the White House, the Supreme Court, and the Jefferson Memorial.

Adam traveled by limo to NPR’s headquarters only blocks from the United States Capitol. Once there, he said he was shocked at his royal treatment. “I figured that I would show up one day, get a tour of the building, and maybe stop in and say hi to a few people. Boy was I wrong!”

His began his day by being greeted by about 15 people in the lobby, including correspondent Susan Stamberg and newscaster Carl Kasell, who showed him how his picture was now up on the wall with all the other voice talent. Adam called it “overwhelming.”

Next, he ventured upstairs, where he was met by applause and NPR’s senior vice president for programming, Jay Kernis. Jay introduced Adam to the crowd of about 100 clapping staff members, who all introduced themselves. “All Things Considered” host Robert Siegel, with camera hanging around his neck, even asked Adam if he could have his picture taken with him. Later, Adam sat in during a taping of Mr. Siegel’s show.

With his own security pass, Adam had a world of knowledge available to him behind NPR’s doors. He toured the production areas and received instruction on how to be a reporter, which he called “reporter boot camp.” He even got to record a “tapes and transcripts” message for “All Things Considered” in which he told radio listeners, “Tapes and transcripts are available…”

As a reporter, Adam had his own e-mail account, and he was surprised to find about 50 e-mails waiting for him. His personal work desk included some items sent earlier by his parents, including a family photo and his favorite baseball hat. On one afternoon, he joined high-profile NPR journalists Bob Edwards, Noah Adams, Alex Chadwick, Corey Flintoff, and Carl Kasell for a one-and-a-half-hour lunch on Capitol Hill. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch stopped by to shake hands with everyone, including Adam.

Looking back on his experience, Adam had high praise for his heroes, explaining, “I got to know some of the nicest people I have ever met at NPR. I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world.” He added, “I can’t wait to work there.”