What internship did you have and what were your responsibilities?
During summer 2014, I interned at both “The Wendy Williams Show” and BET Networks. At “The Wendy Williams Show,” I was a production and publicity intern and assisted in live-show production for key segments and assisted with publicity efforts around Wendy’s 50th birthday episode. At BET Networks, I worked with the corporate communications team in creating publicity materials for red carpets and special events, building daily clip reports and more.
What did this experience teach you about yourself as a professional and as a person?
As a small-town native, this was my first time visiting New York as well as my first experience living in a major city. After weeks of navigating the subway system and weaving through crowds in Times Square, I built the confidence to pursue full-time work in a top market after graduation. My internships taught me how to look beyond a job description and ask for what I want. If there was a skill I wanted to develop, I asked for it. The experiences solidified my interest in a career in the entertainment industry, and I never would have gotten that level of exposure if it had not been for the Missouri School of Journalism’s New York program. (I also met my now-best friend through the program!)
How has this experience helped you in your professional career?
The experience definitely became a conversation starter during interviews, as companies were always impressed by a student in Missouri venturing to the other side of the country for an internship. Completing the New York program shows potential employers that you are passionate about investing in your future early, which speaks volumes to what you can offer as an employee. The media tours during the program exposed us to a variety of newsrooms and professional environments outside our individual internships, as well as prime in-person networking opportunities with Mizzou alumni. In fact, one of the Entertainment Weekly editors we met has become a contact I often use now, nearly four years later, in my work as a publicist. You truly learn how small the world is from that big city!
During summer 2014, I interned at both “The Wendy Williams Show” and BET Networks. At “The Wendy Williams Show,” I was a production and publicity intern and assisted in live-show production for key segments and assisted with publicity efforts around Wendy’s 50th birthday episode. At BET Networks, I worked with the corporate communications team in creating publicity materials for red carpets and special events, building daily clip reports and more.
What did this experience teach you about yourself as a professional and as a person?
As a small-town native, this was my first time visiting New York as well as my first experience living in a major city. After weeks of navigating the subway system and weaving through crowds in Times Square, I built the confidence to pursue full-time work in a top market after graduation. My internships taught me how to look beyond a job description and ask for what I want. If there was a skill I wanted to develop, I asked for it. The experiences solidified my interest in a career in the entertainment industry, and I never would have gotten that level of exposure if it had not been for the Missouri School of Journalism’s New York program. (I also met my now-best friend through the program!)
How has this experience helped you in your professional career?
The experience definitely became a conversation starter during interviews, as companies were always impressed by a student in Missouri venturing to the other side of the country for an internship. Completing the New York program shows potential employers that you are passionate about investing in your future early, which speaks volumes to what you can offer as an employee. The media tours during the program exposed us to a variety of newsrooms and professional environments outside our individual internships, as well as prime in-person networking opportunities with Mizzou alumni. In fact, one of the Entertainment Weekly editors we met has become a contact I often use now, nearly four years later, in my work as a publicist. You truly learn how small the world is from that big city!