Kutztown Internship Blog

Meet Our Bloggers!

2010-04-15T05:58:00.001-07:00

Our first three bloggers are:

Chris F. - Electronic Media Major - Intern at First Generation – Allentown, PA

Lena - English Professional Writing Major - Intern at WVIA, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Chris W. - Electronic Media Major - Intern at Video Works, Reading

Each intern was asked to blog about their internship experience. Read on to learn about their experiences!

Tell us about yourself. What is your major and class standing? Where is your internship located and how did you get it?

2010-04-15T05:55:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

My name is Chris and I am an Electronic Media major. I am interning at VideoWorks Production Company in Reading. I have been here for two weeks and I have been having a great time. I have been out on a couple shoots and everyone I work with is very nice. I help everyone out with whatever they need and when I have free time I learn how to use the equipment.

Lena:

I've always wanted to complete an internship but never really knew much about them. As an English/Professional Writing major, not only was an internship required, but also highly encouraged as an extremely important element of the learning process. After 2 years in the Professional Writing major, I finally decided that I want to become a screenwriter. This realization really helped me mold the type of internship I wanted to have. I initially began searching for screenwriting internships in cities; however after a lot of researching I discovered that this wouldn't be a possibility because of the expense of living away. I eventually settled on doing a local internship and began searching them out in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area where I live. After searching for what felt like forever and not finding anything in the screenwriting field or even the media field, I changed the approach to my search. I began researching local media companies and checking their websites for internship listings. Finally I looked up WVIA, a local NPR/PBS station that I spent my life listening to and watching with my parents. While they didn't offer any television writing internships, they did offer a radio news internship. I was immediately drawn to it because it was an internship in the media and would allow me to get a lot of experience writing for a legitimate and highly respected company. So I applied for the position and two weeks later when I hadn't heard anything, I called the site and verified that they had received my application. During the phone call, the internship coordinator told me she was very interested in my application and scheduled an interview for me over spring break. My interview went well and I got the position. Afterward, the coordinator pulled me aside and told me how my persistence is what got me my position and that I should never lose that persistence. After the interview, all of the other details were settled. My internship is 9 credits, aka 450 hours. Yes, daunting. But it is definitely not a problem because I have so many duties and responsibilities. I am working in the Radio, or FM department. My main responsibilities include researching local news stories, writing news and radio copy, interviewing authors and news sources, editing those interviews using audio editing software, contacting public relations executives, preparing interviews for radio hosts, and organizing music collections. However, my supervisors have told me I may be able to do some work in the television department as well.

Chris F:

My name is Chris and I am a senior Electronic Media major with a minor in Psychology. My internship is for credit, and I am paid when I go out on shoots and for my driving mileage that I log for things such as deliveries and pickups to and from clients. What drew me to my site was the size of the location, it’s a rather small production house and I figured with the size being so small that I would be able to get to know a lot of people and build my network rather than getting lost in the mix at a larger facility. Specifically what I do at my internship is pick up and drop off things for clients, digitize and log footage, go out on shoots, do some off-line edit work, sit in on editing sessions, help pack equipment for shoots, and pick the brain of as many people as I can at every chance I can.

How did you feel on the first day? How did it go? Were your expectations met? Can you describe anything that surprised you?

2010-04-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

My first day at VideoWorks, I started shadowing a co-worker while he worked on a project. He then showed me how the DVD label machine worked. I then put twenty DVDs in at a time and printed them. I got to explore Juicer 3, a huge library of SFX, graphics, pictures and videos. I worked on a logo in Photoshop and finished my day putting finished DVD’s in cases.

Lena:

The first day of my internship was intense. I was terrified, nervous, and in constant panic that I would be judged and make a bad first impression. However I hid this as best as possible. It started as an orientation where the internship coordinator gave me a tour of the studio. It was really exciting to see a radio and television studio up close. I met a ton of people and remember none of their names of course. After the tour, the Vice President of Radio took me to a press conference. I was really surprised because I had only been there a few hours, but that is how this internship has been so far. I have been thrown into things and exposed to different opportunities and responsibilities early on. After the press conference, we came back and he showed me some audio editing techniques. I spent the rest of the day recording sample audio recordings of myself, reading news stories, and reasearching some local news. The first day of my actual internship was very different. Immediately upon arriving, I was given a story that required an interview, audio editing, and writing the story. I did all of this on my own, on my first day. This was really surprising for me. I didn't expect to be treated as an adult or capable/reliable. I expected to be treated as a student and I was not. Everyone was so nice, supportive, and enthusiastic about my position. I was so encouraged by everyone around me and immediately made to feel at home. The hardest part of my internship is my schedule. I get up at 5:50 every day and leave my house by 7, with a 45 minute commute to the site. I work until 4 and get home by 5. I am having a hard time adjusting to going to bed early enough so I'm not exhausted all day. It's only my first week so I know it will get better, but it is hard to get used to things. So far though, it has been an amazing experience and I feel like I have learned so much already and I feel that I learn more and more every day.

Chris F:

My first day was interesting, it was rough getting used to the personalities of everyone in the office and getting a feel for what was expected of me. What surprised me I think more than anything really was how much of my day was going to be composed of what I made of it. If I wanted to I could be very passive and have little responsibilities around the office. I learned very quickly that you have to find work to do and expect there to be times that are going to be slow.

Tell us about your work environment and supervisors. How many people do you work with? What is great about it and what isn’t?

2010-04-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

The people I work with are great. VideoWorks is a small environment, which allows me a lot of time to interact and learn from my supervisors. I work with 3 other people. I believe a smaller setting has allowed me to connect easily with them, compared to a big business with a lot of people.

Lena:

My work environment is easily one of my favorite things about my internship with WVIA. I work with between 1-5 people depending on the time of day and who is available. There are two computers in a general office area that we all share simultaneously. Then there is a production closet that has a desk and audio editing software, and three studios for recording and airing programming. In the morning, I work alone with the morning host. Since day one she has been nothing but extraordinary supportive of me. She walks me through projects but also gives me a lot of responsibility. In the afternoon I work with three other supervisors who are all incredibly friendly, open-minded and easy to get along with. Everyone here is appreciative of the work I do, and are all considerate of my goals during this internship and after it. I have had fantastic conversations with all of them, some related to my internship and some just about life, school, music, film, etc. Because I got an internship in the industry I am interested in working, I am surrounded by people with similar interests which makes time fly and going to work every day a joy. The only difficult thing about my work environment is that it is small, and there are limited work spaces. Sometimes when I need to write, edit audio, or record an interview, the spaces are taken and I must work around it. However, as an intern, my supervisors treat me and each other as equals, respecting the needs and time of others, which makes even the difficulties of our work space feel much less important. For example, earlier this week I was editing a piece in the production closet, saving audio, writing a story, the works. And the VP of Radio asked if I could finish early so that he could use the studio. He told me that he would be done shortly and I would be able to use it later to finish my story. Well, as it happened it took longer than he expected so I wasn't able to finish. The next day when I was working on another story, he made a point of coming over to the studio to apologize for taking up so much time. It continues to shock me every day how much the people around me treat me as an equal. I am not treated like a student, I'm treated like an employee and that is a fantastic feeling.

Chris F:

There are about 20 people working within the company that I am interning for, I work hand in hand with about 6 or 7 of them because half of the company is in print based marketing and that’s really not my field at all. Just about everyone that I work with (my supervisor included) is extremely nice and it has been really fun and easy to learn with them and to work hand in hand with them. My only complaint at this point is that because of the recession and because the summer is settling in there is not much work to do around the office.

Tell us about your life outside of the internship. Are you living in a new location? Have you met new people?

2010-04-15T05:49:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

Life outside my internship has been very nice. I have a lot of free time because there is no homework after work.

Lena:

Luckily, my internship site is 45 minutes away from my mother's house. Therefore, I am living back at home, commuting to work every day. Because I work a minimum of 40 hours a week, my life has changed exponentially. I have had many part time jobs in my life, but I have never worked full time, the same hours every day. I wake up every morning at 5:50, leave by 7 and get to work around 7:50. I work until 4 and get home just before 5. It is a difficult schedule to adjust to. I am having a hard time accepting that I cannot stay up until 1 anymore and sleep until 10 if I want to. I have to go to bed early if I don't want to wake up exhausted. I have still not grasped this concept, so needless to say I've been extremely tired since starting my internship. Also because I have an unpaid internship, I have to find a part time job. However, my hours make it very difficult and I find myself very limited not only in time that I can potentially work but also time to apply for jobs. It is all new and different for me but I am adjusting accordingly.

Chris F:

Outside of my internship I am living in an apartment with my girlfriend. The only real way that my life has changed is that I have a lot less free time then when I was a traditional on-campus student. I wake up much earlier now in order to be able to get to the gym to work out, and go to bed much earlier at night so I am sharp for the next day. I find that I value my free time a lot more now since I have so much less of it.

If you are earning credit for your internship, what types of assignments/projects are required by the University?

2010-04-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

One requirement I must hand in is a typed journal. I must make a small project at the end of the summer highlighting what I did and learned.

Lena:

My internship is being taken as a requirement for my major. We had the option to take a 3 credit, 6 credits, or 9 credit internship. Every 3 credits is equivalent to 150 hours. I decided to take a 9 credit internship because I thought it would be the best opportunity for me to learn about actually working and writing for a company. Therefore I am fulfilling 450 hours to complete my internship. The internship for professional writing is expected to be at least 50% writing. My internship is about 75-80% writing. Every day I write multiple articles, conduct interviews, edit other interviews, and edit audio. That is the majority of my work. In order to stay connected to the university, I am required to journal entries every day, and to email them to my faculty advisor at the end of each week. However, I feel very connected in that; I can contact him at any point if I am having a problem or just need to talk. That is why I think it is so important to select a faculty advisor you are comfortable with and trust. At the end of the internship, I will be required to complete a portfolio of my internship work and some essays. That will be handed in as a final grade.

Chris F:

I am earning 12 credits for my internship, and have to keep a journal which details what I do from day to day. I have a faculty advisor who also teaches a senior seminar class that I have to take. Whenever I have a problem or run into a situation I am not sure how to handle I shoot him an email and he gets back to me quickly. We also meet as a class every other Monday with the other interns to talk about the progress we have been making.

What has been your most interesting assignment/task? What made it the most interesting?

2010-04-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

Some of the most interesting things I do here at VideoWorks is to go out on shoots, it’s always something new. New places, people, and new ways to do things.

Lena:

My most interesting assignment required through the university, is probably the internship portfolio at the end of the summer. It will be really cool to look back on all of my work and be able to reflect on how much I have accomplished.

As for my internship, I have a couple of very interesting assignments. Because I work for local news, I interview people every day. Overall I have interviewed over 30 people in my 4 weeks at the internship, ranging from local residents, to national scholars. Some of my most interesting interviews have been with the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, the District Attorney's Office of Lackawanna County, a State Representative, CEO's of various grassroots political organizations, a nationally renowned women's medical expert who appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, and currently works for ABC News, the Chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and the President of Junior Achievement USA. Conducting all of these interviews has taught me so much about reporting, journalism and the various topics I am covering.

One of the other very interesting assignments I have is for WVIA's annual Barnes and Noble Day. Barnes and Noble Day takes place in mid June, when WVIA radio personalities broadcast live from the store, interviewing 2 different arts organizations every hour, promoting their events through live interviews. My job is to schedule those interviews. This has been such an interesting assignment because I got to plan the whole thing. Although it has been a lot of work, it has also been so much fun. I absolutely love doing it, and I can't wait to see it all come together.

Chris W:

The most interesting assignment/task I have had to do actually occurred today. What was supposed to be a routine trip to drop off a product to a client turned into quite an adventure as I got lost in the Pocono Mountains and ended up driving through the woods and eventually got harassed by woods security. I have also be able to do some cool things that are more applicable to my major then my poor sense of direction. I have driven in Mack trucks, met the CEO of Olympus, and have been given a lot of free stuff!

How is your internship going? Are you enjoying the work that you are given? Are you encountering any difficulties?

2010-04-15T05:42:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

My internship is fantastic. The project I just completed came out great. I am very proud of my work and happy to complete them on time and in a professional manner. There have been no real difficulties and deadlines are not an issue.

Lena:

My internship is going very well. Each day I have a set number of assignments I am working on that are mostly generated by my own research and through work with my supervisor. Because I write and report local news, I am able to follow many leads and stories that interest me. Deadlines vary based on the subject. Sometimes when I am working on a story that will cover an event that is taking place I need to rush my work. But when I am writing feature stories, I have a lot of time to play with. I am truly enjoying a lot of the work I have because it is fresh, exciting, and different every day. There is a lot to look forward to when I come in each day. The only difficulties I have are balancing the workload. Because I work full time I take on a lot of projects at once. It is sometimes difficult to complete everything in a timely matter. Otherwise, my assignments have been fun and informative.

Chris F:

My internship is going very well. I enjoy some of the work that I am doing, but not all of it. The only difficulties that I am running into are that sometimes I'll get work from corporate clients and I will not understand some of the corporate terms and things of that nature. I find that people expect a lot of me, but I take it as a good thing that they have the confidence in me to do the work.

What was the most difficult assignment/task/challenge that you were faced with? How did you deal with it? What did you learn from it?

2010-04-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

I had a tough shoot at a golf course in the rain. I'm happy for the experience because it will only make me a better producern in the future. It's important to stay focused and not get discouraged.

Lena:

I've had varied challenges that come with some of my assignments. Overall the brunt of my work is writing and reporting. Sometimes if it is a difficult subject matter, I struggle. However my most challenging assignment is probably when I stepped away from my writing assignments and organized an event for the station. Each year WVIA has a Barnes and Noble Day where the radio personalities interview local artist groups and authors from the local Barnes and Noble store, raising money for the station. I was responsible for booking and scheduling all of the interviews, preparing all of the questions and information sheets for each interview, and maintaining all of the contacts. I was only given about a week to do it. It was very challenging because I had to contact about 30 different people throughout that week, trying to secure interview slots and information, while trying to meet the event deadline. It was a challenge but I enjoyed it a lot and really learned from it. It taught me a lot about event planning, public relations, and communication. I also really enjoyed organizing all of the paperwork involved! : )

Chris F:

The most difficult task I had was working to meet a deadline with a script I had to write for a producer. There was not much time and I was unsure of some of the client’s technology. I just relaxed and worked my way through it and asked questions when I had them.

What are your thoughts about your internship, now that it is over? What did you learn? What would you have done differently?

2010-04-15T05:39:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

My internship was a great learning experience. I learned about aftereffects, shooting on scene, and many things they cannot teach you in a school setting. The first couple of days may be slow but stay focused and you will slowly get into the groove of things.

Lena:

My internship was truthfully one of the best experiences of my life. I worked full time for 3 months without pay but I feel like I gained so much. I have learned a great deal not only about journalism and the media but about work ethic, time management, teamwork, leadership, and the ethical and moral dilemmas that face people working in the media on a daily basis. I learned to keep going no matter how hard things get. I learned that sometimes I will hate working because of the long hours and how much time it takes up, but you have to keep working hard and go in every day with a smile. I learned how much I love to work, and how much potential I have to be successful and truly make something of myself. When I look back over my experience, I wouldn't have done anything different. I am thrilled with the ways things turned out. On my first day I was so nervous. I was so scared that I would not measure up and would not learn quick enough. Now my supervisors tell me I am the best intern they have ever had. My worries were normal and certainly expected, but they were not necessary. I lived up to my own potential through hard work and determination to do so.

Chris F:

Now that my internship is over, I am excited to move on and start my life in the real world. My time here and my time at Kutztown went by very fast. The most important thing that I learned the whole time while I was interning, had little to do with my specific field and was really just what it is like to work in a professional setting, and what goes on in a day to day bases and how to conduct myself in a professional setting. I think that this is probably the most important lesson that any intern can learn. If there's anything that I could have done different I think I would have been more outgoing and more vocal in my first few weeks while "on the job".

What advice would you give to future interns? How did your internship benefit you? What tips/suggestions do you have for future KU interns?

2010-04-15T05:36:00.000-07:00

Chris W:

One of the best things you can do is to stay busy. Bring in old work and improve upon it. Don’t stop asking questions. Have fun!

Lena:

I believe every student at every university in the world should be required to complete an internship. What you learn in an actual work experience is beyond what you would learn somewhere else. I would also recommend that students apply for internships at places they respect or admire. I interned at a public radio station that I have listened to and supported my entire life. Working here felt like an honor. Students should not just go for whatever internship is easiest, they should aim high and go for a place they will really be proud of. I also want other KU students to remember that an internship is more than just "working for free" or "making coffee." I gained more in my internship than money could buy and I never had to make coffee. If you hit the ground running from day one and show initiative and passion and interest in your area, you will impress people enough for them to relieve you of your coffee duties and give you the chance to put your energy and talents into something worthwhile and exciting. I took every assignment I was given with enthusiasm even if it was not something I wanted to do. My supervisor and I became very close and she gave me life lessons every day. One that has stuck with me is when she told me about work ethic and drive. She said, "If the only job you can find is one as a ditch digger, be the best ditch digger imaginable. Dig the deepest ditches, and never complain. Every position has worth. And if you work hard at even the most unimportant job, do it to the best of your ability and someone will take notice." I think that is true and I think interns should remember that. Some of you will have to make photocopies, or run errands, or make coffee, or file papers. But do those things in the best way you can because when someone takes notice, opportunities will open up for you. But if nothing else, remember that graduating during these times is not easy. So if you impress one person it will go a long way. Work hard to get good references and recommendations. If you don't, you will be just some other sorry graduate that can't get a job.
My one last tip is to take a 6 or 9 credit internship. While 3 credit internships are still valuable, I would recommend taking a larger one. I completed a 9 credit internship of 450 hours. If I had only taken a 3, I would have learned so little and would not have developed nearly as much as a professional.

Chris F:

Don't come in with an attitude! Come in with an open mind and be more than happy to challenge any and all tasks that are given to you with a smile on your face. Be out going and just be yourself.