Worcester Telegram & Gazette

As I finish up the last week of my internship at the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, I can now look back on the past few months and fully evaluate what I have taken away from the entire experience. After considering the helpful advice from Dr. Luebke and the class reading materials, I was able to create a cover letter and revise my resume to make it more readable and coherent. Because of my work at the Telegram over the summer, I can say that I have eight written articles with my byline on them, ranging from a story on a summer playground program to a walk-and-talk on how Fitchburg commuters felt about the T service since the tunnel collapse in Boston.

The class assignments also helped me become more aware of job-seeking resources, including the Internet and other print publications. I think it is extremely important to know how to find a job; a person can have all the skills in the world, but if they are incapable of knowing where to look and what to do in order to turn those skills into a successful career, then it doesn't matter. My internship experience has also made me realize my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to the interview process. Although I am certainly not shy, I know I have to work on my body language and with being more concise in my responses. I think that with enough practice and preparation, I can go into the interview for my first full-time job with plenty of confidence.

Although I tended to work with only two or three other people, it nicely complimented my three years of experience at the Good 5 Cent Cigar in terms of practicing proper workplace behavior and establishing professional relationships with others. Since I will be the editor-in-chief this upcoming school year, it will be important for me to know how to deal with any problems that may occur among the staff. I think that sitting in on some of the meetings and observing the social interactions between the editors and reporters will definitely help me in knowing how to better manage and communicate with my fellow staff members.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I feel that having the chance to work at the Telegram this summer opened by eyes to journalism on a much larger scale, and gave me a small taste of what could be my future career. I think this internship was an excellent preview of what I could be doing over the next few years following graduation, and it has certainly helped prepare me for both my senior year at URI and post-college job hunt.

Even though I knew going into this summer that it would be a busy one for myself, I wish I had known going into my internship just how hectic things would get while trying to balance it with my other job, working on preparation for the Cigar and the fall semester, and seeing family and friends. I didn't have a choice but to plan my weekly schedule hour by hour, there were many times when I'd spend half the day doing the internship and then the other half at my other job.

I was lucky to have such an overwhelmingly positive experience at the Telegram and be able to work with such a friendly, helpful staff, because otherwise I probably would have been stressed out and miserable all the time. In fact, if money hadn't been an issue for me this summer, I would have loved to have quit my other job and just devote all of my attention and effort to the Telegram.

It is easy to draw parallels to the journalism courses I have taken at URI with my internship experience this summer. One of the biggest benefits of taking Public Affairs Writing last spring was that it was a lot easier getting in touch with city officials or researching various laws or regulations because I had already had plenty of practice in dealing with local government. Without that background, I would have been a lot more intimidated when talking to the mayor of Fitchburg on more than one occasion. Of course, Media Writing was essential in teaching me how to write my basic news story, especially on the one or two times that I was on deadline and needed to kick out a quick article.

For students who might be considering a similar internship, I would advise taking full advantage of the opportunities it presents for them. Don't waste anytime in getting to know the editors and reporters that you will be working with; the sooner you have a comfortable relationship with the staff, the better. Also, don't be afraid to ask for help. From my experience, everyone was more than willing to answer a question or show me how to do something if I needed assistance. The first week or so can be intimidating and perhaps a bit overwhelming, but it gets a lot easier as time goes on. Most importantly, don't forget to have fun. I learned a lot not only by reporting, but by observing and interacting with others as well. Not only can an internship be an invaluable learning experience, but you can also establish many contacts and make a few friends along the way -- I know I certainly did.

-- Shaun Boutwell