Each week of an internship offers up possibilities for you to grow personally and professionally. One path of possibilities is to put your network to use, developing your brand and relationships with professionals in D.C. One week, in particular, provided daily opportunities to put my network to use and bring the future I hope for a little closer to a reality.
Day 1-Today was Veterans Day. Like most interns working in government buildings, I had the day off from my internship today. Unfortunately, I was sick for most of the day and unable to do much of anything for the holiday.
Day 2-Today my school sent a camera crew and reporter from the Communications Department to my internship site at Voice of America. The crew was sent to work on a piece about me for University of Lynchburg’s spring magazine. I wasn’t really sure what to expect when they arrived because I never had a story done about me before (usually I’m the one conducting the interviews). The day can basically be summed up to three men following me around all day with a camera, notepad and pen, documenting my life in snapshots and questions. The day started off with a photo shoot in various places around Voice of America. The crew then collected footage of me doing my standup (which I do several times a week thanks to an opportunity granted me by my internship) as well as editing my segment. These segments are one-minute daily wraps of news in America to be sent into production services around the building.
Day 3- Today wasn’t anything too extraordinary other than my phone call with the President of the National Capital and Chesapeake Bay Emmy Chapter. We spoke about me volunteering at their Gold and Silver Circle event honoring longtime members of the industry on December 1st at the University of Maryland. The best way to make your way into the business or industry you want to get involved in is to make a great impression by stepping up to the plate and volunteering for extra events or doing extra work to make yourself stand out. The news director at NBC 4 (more on that to come) told me a good way to meet new people in the news industry was to volunteer at Emmy events so I took his advice and did just that.
Day 4-Today I had an interview at NBC 4 for a potential internship with their News4 News team spring semester of 2019. This was not my first time visiting NBC 4. I was there previously for a meeting with their news director to discuss my future career and how to approach applying for jobs and whatnot. At the meeting, I had the chance to introduce myself to the internship coordinator and learn more about the internship and what it offered.
I decided to apply for the internship and was lucky enough to find out the following week that I had been chosen as one of four interns for the spring semester! I am very excited to be returning to Washington, D.C. next semester to continue networking and building my professional skills before obtaining my first official news job!
Day 5-Today I had the opportunity to live out a childhood dream of mine. Thanks to a TWC connection, I was able to tour Politico and meet one of their HR personnel. We talked about my resume and tips for searching and applying for jobs. I was also given connections to several other staff members there and have started talking with them about my future career in news and potential job opportunities for entry-level positions at Politico.
Living in D.C. for the semester and attending The Washington Center has given me access to ample opportunities that I otherwise would not have been connected with. The best way to make the most of your time here is to ask and search for those extra experiences to take advantage of. They will often lead to the best memories and will help broaden your horizons in every aspect of your professional and personal life.
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