When you start college, at or around age 17 or 18, it’s a big concept to think about “what do I want to do with my life?” It’s hard enough to pick a major — something you want to study and learn for four years — let alone decide a career path as a teenager.
You have already made good choices, by deciding on a major that fits your talents and interests, and by choosing a school that gives you the freedom to explore career options through internships.
What exactly is an internship? Some people would say it’s just like a job — just without pay! Internships are much more than that. First, internships give you work experience that you can add to your resume. Every year, thousands of students graduate from area schools, many with the same types of degrees, and many applying for the same jobs. What will set you apart from your competition is your resume, and how much experience you’ve been able to get before you land your first job.
I started my first internship as a sophomore at Medaille. I worked in promotions and on-air production for WKSE-FM. When I first started at Medaille, my main career interest was radio, so I was thrilled to be able to work in the industry at 18 years old. As I expected, I loved (pretty much) every minute. I learned that I was better at on-air work than in promotions, which helped me shape my career focus. That’s another benefit to internships — you might find a something you love, or you might learn exactly what it is you don’t want to do for a living.
After I completed that internship, I was on to my next one in January 1999 at WEDG-FM, working on the Shredd & Ragan show. I learned a lot about on-air performance, and the “behind the scenes” work that goes into a show — booking guests, helping to create content, and working in production (production is industry-speak for the creation of audio elements for broadcast). I also learned how to make an excellent cup of coffee. While you should never stay in an internship where you feel you aren’t learning anything, you should also learn how to be humble, how to be a team player, and how to pitch in wherever you can. Someone in the office has to make the coffee, after all.
In addition to having work experience before graduation, sometimes internships can lead you to that first job. I extended my four month internship to eight months, showing my potential future employer that I had interest beyond doing the minimum required for my college credit. The extra time put in also meant that I learned more, and when I put in an audition tape (which I made in the WMCB studio) the program director at the station already knew who I was, and I’d learned enough to make a good first impression. I was hired.
I started doing overnights at WEDG, then weekends, then filling in for full-time shifts, and eventually landed a full-time position. So many jobs in media — radio, television, journalism, public relations, advertising — are difficult to get. There are only so many jobs, and too many people who want them. My internship got my proverbial “foot in the door” and I chased the opportunity; so if doors didn’t open…my foot would have still been stuck in it.
I worked at WEDG for eight years, before starting my newest position at WHTT-FM doing afternoon drive. However, I didn’t stop doing internships after I got that first job. Medaille provided me with an opportunity to try careers out, so I did.
In my senior year I began an internship with Delaware North Companies, where I worked in public relations. This opportunity was outstanding. There was a lot of competition for this particular internship, as Delaware North is an international, high-profile company that just happens to have their corporate headquarters in downtown Buffalo. When I interviewed for the internship, I had to bring a writing portfolio, which I had put together during my Public Relations class at Medaille. I was hired.
Two weeks after I began, my department was so impressed with my skills, creativity and motivation, that they began sending me on business trips with the public relations managers. My first trip (which also happened to be my first time on an airplane) was to Chicago to oversee a photo shoot for menus for one of our airport restaurants. From taking photography classes with Courtney Grim, I had the artistic/aesthetic knowledge to talk to the photographer about how we could do the shots differently, or make them better in some way. That made an impression on my supervisors, and it wasn’t long before I was being sent all over the country to oversee menu shoots.
They liked how I took charge of my responsibilities, and began giving me more to do. During the course of my internship I assisted with media tours to the company’s various facilities, stadiums and resorts. I had the opportunity to facilitate First Lady Laura Bush’s tour of Yosemite National Park, President Bush’s visit to Miller Park’s opening in Milwaukee, hosting a VIP tour to Kennedy Space Center with director James Cameron and Governor Jeb Bush, and the Food Network’s shoot of Niagara Falls.
I was hired full-time before I finished my senior year, and worked with the company until just after September 2001. 9/11 had a detrimental impact on tourism, which caused the company to make departmental cutbacks, and unfortunately I was laid off. I was glad to have the chance to experience all I did, and learn all I learned — all of which would have never happened without Medaille’s support of internship opportunities.
Through my four years at Medaille, I also interned with BuffaloTrax (a promotions agency for regional musicians), and Grand Royal Records. While I am still employed full-time with the company I first started interning with in 1999, I used my status as “intern” to explore other companies and other facets of media. Needless to say, I had a pretty snazzy resume by the time I graduated, and also had a lot of real world work experience. Internships also give you a fantastic chance to network with professionals — contacts that become very important in the competitive job market.
At best, internships can be your golden ticket to that first job. While not everyone will get hired from an internship, it’s important to choose different types of opportunities to get as much experience as you can, and to make your resume as diverse as possible. Take your internships seriously, make contacts and always show motivation — you will be putting yourself above the competition!
Valerie Pawlowski is an ‘01 graduate of Medaille’s Media/Communication program. She also has a Masters of Humanities from the University at Buffalo and is pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts in Media Study at UB. She is an adjunct instructor in the Humanities department at Medaille College.
