{"id":33048,"date":"2022-03-31T15:22:55","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T19:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/?post_type=bu-article&p=33048"},"modified":"2022-03-31T16:00:56","modified_gmt":"2022-03-31T20:00:56","slug":"the-intern-factor","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/com\/articles\/the-intern-factor\/","title":{"rendered":"The Intern Factor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Michelle Sullivan was a senior at COM, she landed an internship at the former Boston-based PR and marketing firm Bishoff Solomon Communications. The agency, run by alums Janey Bishoff (CAS\u201975) and Helene Solomon (CGS\u201972, COM\u201974), gave her invaluable experience. \u201cInternships are one of the most important things you can do while you\u2019re an undergrad,\u201d says Sullivan. \u201cYou\u2019re getting hands-on, real-world learning that helps you apply what you\u2019re actually doing in the classroom.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But beyond the educational advantages, the internship provided Sullivan (\u201995) with another benefit: her first job. Upon graduation, she was hired as an account executive at Bishoff Solomon. After a few years there, she joined The Boston Beer Company\u2019s marketing and communications department, where she climbed the ranks to chief communications officer and head of marketing. Today, she is the associate dean of diversity, equity and inclusion and a professor of advertising at COM and runs her own consulting practice, SM&C. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sullivan, who is also the internship coordinator for COM\u2019s advertising department, is not alone in her experience. \u201cThis is only my fourth year of teaching, but I can think of a number of students who got offered their first full-time position based off of a place where they interned,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But taking on an internship often isn\u2019t so simple. \u201cMany students are forced to make the choice to supplement their income to fund their education\u2014to buy their books and to pay for their housing\u2014or to get that professional experience through an internship program that pays nothing or very little,\u201d Sullivan says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that 43 percent of internships at for-profit companies are unpaid. For many COM students, internships aren\u2019t possible without support. Fortunately, a growing number of alumni donors target their gifts for this purpose (see sidebar on page 22). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

COM\/365<\/em> spoke with current students and recent alumni who, like Sullivan, had impactful internship experiences\u2014many thanks to the support of alumni donors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RUIXIN ZHU (\u201919)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Originally from southwestern China, Ruixin Zhu came to COM for its Master of Arts in Emerging Media Studies<\/a>. \u201cThe program trained me in areas that are not only technical, including data analysis and website design, but also philosophical, in the way it dove deep into the complex relationship between human beings and social media,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few months after graduating, he landed a year-long PR internship with PerkinElmer, a global bio-technology company headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Zhu credits Heather Fink, director of career services at COM, with helping him find the internship. \u201cWhen I first heard about the idea of networking, I was intimidated. I was terrified by the time constraint of an elevator pitch, concerned about how empty my r\u00e9sum\u00e9 was, and even self-conscious about not speaking English as fluently as native speakers,\u201d he says. \u201cHowever, with Heather\u2019s training, I learned to be confident and believe in my capabilities.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhu says that although it was tough learning all of the healthcare and science jargon common in the industry, he picked things up quickly. He helped pitch to publications, monitored media coverage and translated articles from English to Chinese. \u201cI was lucky to have a great team that was supportive and knowledgeable to help me develop my PR skills.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those team members recognized his growth. When the internship ended, they hired Zhu as a PR associate and sponsored his H1B visa. A recent project had him facilitating a podcast interview that involved people based in the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. \u201cBeing able to participate fully in that, from pitching a media outlet with an idea to seeing that result [with the podcast], was fascinating,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat I love about my job is how it is not only focused on the US but also connects the globe. As a foreign employee, it\u2019s a blessing to work at a place where internationality is celebrated and valued.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love the work I do and feel that all of my internship experiences have led me to the role I’m in now.<\/p>Rachel Rex<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

RACHEL REX (COM\u201919, CAS\u201919)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Rachel Rex, a double major in communication and political science, became passionate about reforming the US immigration system through her classes at BU. She wanted to use her two majors to become engaged in and support immigrant and refugee rights. So a communications internship at the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition (MIRA), a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees, was a perfect fit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI found the on-the-ground work that MIRA does inspiring, and I was interested in nonprofit public relations,\u201d Rex says. \u201cUnfortunately, many grassroots organizations [like MIRA] aren\u2019t able to offer a paid internship.\u201d Rex applied for and was awarded the Marcy Syms Community Service Fellowship in Communication. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At MIRA, Rex helped to plan an advocacy event at the Massachusetts State House, maintained donor databases and edited the organization\u2019s website. She says the internship enhanced her studies\u2014she was simultaneously taking a class on immigration policy for which she wrote a final paper that compared US and Canadian laws. \u201cWhile I was doing this research, I could see the effects of the US\u2019 patchwork immigration system firsthand through the work MIRA does.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also prepared her for a PR internship that summer with 617MediaGroup, a communications firm that specializes in non-profit and labor union clients. By the end of the summer, the agency had hired Rex as an account executive. Two years later, she\u2019s an account director. \u201cI love the work I do and feel that all of my internship experiences have led me to the role I\u2019m in now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ALEXANDRA ROSS (\u201922)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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For Alexandra Ross, an internship with the Today Show<\/em> was a dream long in the making. Six years ago, she stood with her mother outside Today\u2019s <\/em>studio, on Rockefeller Plaza, holding a sign that read, \u201cNatalie, can I do the news with you?\u201d It worked. Ross was invited into the studio to read some of the day\u2019s headlines alongside then-anchor Natalie Morales. Fast-forward to summer 2021, and Ross, one of 10 COM Fellows<\/a>, landed the dream internship, during which she conducted research on the program\u2019s guests to help producers prepare segments, assisted in recording Zoom interviews and worked the overnight shift during the Olympics, transcribing audio and logging footage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the last day of the internship, she even had the opportunity to speak with her role model, Today<\/em> anchor Savannah Guthrie, who joined a Zoom call with the interns after wrapping up the day\u2019s broadcast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll always look back at that as the summer that changed my life. Interning at Today<\/em> kick-started my career in a way I could\u2019ve only dreamed of. The connections I made with the people who work there are invaluable.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Today<\/em> internship also opened up another opportunity: a fall internship with E! News<\/em> (like the Today Show, E!<\/em> is owned by NBCUniversal). At E!<\/em>, Ross interviewed celebrities over Zoom and wrote accompanying articles for eonline.com, including a piece on Harry Potter<\/em> star Evanna Lynch\u2019s new memoir. \u201cThe intersection of the broadcasting and production experience from Today<\/em> and the reporting and interviewing experience from E!<\/em> is essentially what I want to do for the rest of my life,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WILL ANDRONICO (\u201922)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Like Ross, Will Andronico was a summer 2021 COM Fellow. As a television development intern with VICE Media, whose shows include the documentary series Dark Side of the 90s <\/em>and the news program Vice News Tonight<\/em>, he attended pitch meetings, observed how budgets and schedules for shows were developed and helped examine Nielsen ratings and
other analytics to inform future show development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andronico says the experience gave him \u201ca holistic view of how unscripted programming is developed. I was able to see the process of creative development, budgeting and scheduling and content insights, all of which are important areas to have a grasp on for any job I may have after I graduate.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The summer with VICE helped narrow down what kind of job he\u2019d like to pursue in the future too. \u201cMy strengths lie in the production and the data and analytics side of things. This internship helped me realize I would be great at helping creative people build their project into something that\u2019s really successful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love crafting stories\u2014<\/strong>the emotion, the journey, the honor and privilege of seeing something develop over time. <\/p>Kristen Chin<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

KRISTEN CHIN (\u201921)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Before deciding to pursue her master\u2019s degree in journalism, Kristen Chin worked at a tech start-up. But shekept coming back to storytelling in her pursuits outside of work, from improv and acting to public speaking and writing. Eventually she realized she wanted to turn that passion into a career. \u201cI love crafting stories – the emotion, the journey, the honor and privilege of seeing something develop over time,\u201d Chin says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At COM, she took a special interest in video and digital media and looked for an internship where she could explore those formats. In June 2020, she accepted a production internship at the Boston public radio station, GBH. That internship led to another\u2014and then another\u2014working for GBH\u2019s news and documentary platform, WORLD Channel, and Studio Six, its national programming and lifestyles unit. Over one year, she pitched and researched stories, coordinated travel and managed postproduction tasks, including fact-checking and time-coding scripts. She also helped organize the production department\u2019s first diversity, equity and inclusion workshop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She shares this takeaway from her time as an intern: \u201cCarry yourself like a full-time employee: contribute and be present at meetings, speak up and get to know people.\u201d This mindset certainly helped Chin\u2014at the end of the year, GBH hired her as a full-time production assistant. <\/p>\n\n\n

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ALUMNI ASSISTANCE<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

A number of alums have targeted their financial gifts to support internships. Here are some of the funds currently helping COM students pursue their professional dreams.<\/p>

The COM Fellows Fund<\/strong>, launched in fall 2020, is funded by an anonymous donor. The program is available to juniors and seniors, and provides students with up to $10,000 each to pursue positions at media companies. The fund will support 10 interns in summer 2022. As part of the program, COM has developed partnerships with leading media companies, including Gray Television, America\u2019s Test Kitchen and WBUR, which reserve internships for fellows. <\/p>

Ray Kotcher (\u201983), the former CEO and chair of Ketchum and a professor of the practice at COM, established the Kotcher\u2013Ketchum Scholarship<\/strong> and Internship<\/strong>, which is awarded to two students each year, ideally from under-represented groups. The scholarship includes tuition assistance as well as a paid, for-credit internship at Ketchum, one of the world\u2019s leading PR firms. <\/p>

Marcy Syms (\u201975), president of the Sy Syms Foundation, an organization her father founded in 1985 to support education, science and the arts, created the Sy Syms Foundation Internship Fund<\/strong>, which provides stipends to female COM students who are pursuing internships in the nonprofit sector or other community-based opportunities.<\/p>

Colleen McCreary (\u201995), a Silicon Valley\u2013based human resources executive at Credit Karma, established the McCreary Family Fund<\/strong> in 2018; now that it has reached maturity, the fund will begin supporting COM interns this year.<\/p>

Information about these and other scholarships is available at bu.edu\/com\/career-services.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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