Hometown: Laingsburg, MI
Major and class standing: Senior, English
Where you interned: METAL Magazine, Barcelona, Spain, Remote
What was your internship title and role/responsibilities?
I was an intern/writer with METAL Magazine who wrote interviews and reviews of singles, albums, EPs, and LPs that musicians were planning on releasing. I had to schedule and perform a live interview over Zoom with one of the bands I wrote interview questions for. I researched and wrote proposals for possible new articles, reviews, or interviews for upcoming projects like Movies, Albums, Festivals, Art and Photography Galleries, and Fashion events. It was a collaborative job where I worked with my supervisor to present these proposals and to work on my interviews and reviews that were going to possibly be published.
How did you obtain your internship? What resources did you utilize to secure your internship?
I Initially came across the remote internship program through speaking with my academic advisor about possible internship opportunities. I reached out to the program, went through the steps to be accepted, and then was connected with their partner program Connect 123. They worked with various organizations around the globe and found multiple places for my remote internship. I chose METAL because it seemed like the best chance for me to grow as a writer and as a person. I met with my eventual supervisor for a meeting over Zoom, and we both agreed that meeting that I wanted to work there, and that he would love to have me work with METAL, I then communicated this with MSU and Connect123, and I worked with them over the summer.
What did your daily routine include?
Usually at the start or middle of every week, my supervisor will give out an assignment, or the assignments for the week that I have to complete. Depending on when those are sent out/what day, because there were some issues with time zones/depending on the week, if I didn’t have an assignment right away I would work on a batch of proposals for the week and send them out by Friday. I would work on them every day, unless I had an assignment, like an interview or a review of an album. This would lead to some up and down weeks, and I had to ask for work on a handful of occasions, but it kept me the right about of busy for the internship/the Summer.
Your favorite experience from the internship?
I had two favorite experiences from my internship with METAL. The first was getting to see my articles published on their website, which I am still digesting/I don’t know if it has really kicked in that I am a published writer, and two, that I worked back and forth with my supervisor. I know that might sound weird, but I am going into the screenwriting/publishing field, which is made up of a lot of back and forth/editing and cutting, which is what I did with my supervisor, so it gave me an early taste of what that is going to be like.
What was your least favorite part of the internship?
In all honesty, it was an up-and-down learning experience where I had to learn to better communicate and ask questions after I misread an assignment and turned in the wrong thing, and my unfamiliarity with how to transcribe an interview led to me not turning in what they wanted, and not the best work I could do. There were some learning curves, and figuring out how I react and act in a workplace setting, but it was an overall great experience that I have little negatives about.
What skills did you learn and/or build upon during your internship?
My writing ability, and my ability to better communicate my thoughts/emotions. During the early parts of the internship, I had to figure out how to word and write my interviews and reviews, which were informed by the feedback my supervisor provided. I had to learn not to be too repetitive, and to how make them flow better. I also had to learn to not be afraid to ask questions, especially if I was confused about how to do an assignment, and to double-check that I was reading an email or press release right. Both of them combined, led me to ask questions when needed, and my work started to become better and better with each installment, as I got a rhythm down.
What did you learn about the industry or your career path as a result of the internship? What are your future plans?
I learned just how complicated and nuanced journalism is, and that it takes a lot of work to create thought-provoking and nuanced interviews and reviews, and there is a heavy amount of research into finding new and interesting topics for articles. Given the state of the world at large, it not only showed me that I could use this experience to find work while I am trying to break into the creative writing world/screenwriting world, but it also gave me interviews and reviews I had written that were published to add to a portfolio. I will probably not stick in the journalism sector, as I want to be a screenwriter/published author, but it gave me another pathway for my future career and what I can do after college.
What advice do you have for other students seeking out internship opportunities?
One, use MSU’s programs if you are struggling to find internships that intrigue you, or feel work best with your career field, but also, don’t be afraid to take a chance on an internship you might not think would interest you or you are hesitant about. You might just be surprised to find how valuable the experience is, and just how much it might affect your career going forward.
