It was no ordinary August day.

The temperature outside was 59 degrees, a record low for Aug. 21st – and the month, for that matter.

Inside the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, a new class of students arrived, eager to make a mark of their own in the city.

The more than 50 students became the second class to enter the only publicly supported journalism school in the Northeast.

They slowly began to bond at breakfast over pastries and coffee, and ended the day with a group photo and a buffet dinner reception filled with laughter, sounding almost like old friends.

Then the work began.

Craft professors quickly had the students hit the streets, covering news events and writing stories.

Each student has been assigned to cover a community district in the city – giving them real-life training in local journalism and the opportunity, through the school's NYCity News Service, to see their work published. They're also learning the basics of multi-media and broadcast journalism while studying legal and ethical aspects of the profession.

The students eagerly jumped into the first semester of the intensive three-semester program, which also includes a required full-time summer internship. In addition to their energy and smarts, the new class ads to the diversity that is the City University of New York's hallmark.

About two-thirds of the Class of '08 are women, roughly 40 percent are minority group members. Some are graduates of CUNY and SUNY schools, while other attended colleges around the country – and the world. Three international students are among the ranks, representing India, Nigeria and Northern Ireland.

The average age is 27, and the students bring different life and work experiences, with degrees in disciplines ranging from law to physics to music.

"We are fortunate to have such a rich, diverse and motivated group of students," said Dean Stephen B. Shepard. "They're picking up where our first class left off, learning the craft of journalism and the profession's eternal verities of truth and fairness, while honing the new media skills they'll need in the changing job market.

"We are as excited to have them here as they are to be here."