Today’s Advisor reports on one journalism student’s internship at the recent Sochi Winter Olympics. It’s a great example of how internships—in any industry—can provide exciting and effective on-the-job training that helps prepare the next generation of your workforce.
A University of Connecticut journalism student had an exciting and successful internship at the Winter Olympics thanks to her own research, her college experience, great communication by her employer, and a job description that said “expect the unexpected.”
After completing an internship at the NBC affiliate in Hartford two summers ago, senior UCONN journalism student Gabrielle Levesque decided she wanted to work on news stories, the “big pieces about things happening around the world.”
Levesque, news director for UCTV, the student-run television station on campus, took the next step toward her goal by gaining an internship at NBC’s Today, Weekend Edition show in New York City last summer, according to a UCONN blog.
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This, plus her college experience, led her to be selected as one of 16 “production runners” at the main press center for the Sochi coverage selected from a large group of former NBC interns.
“They didn’t really give us a job description,” Levesque says in the UCONN interview with Kenneth Best. “Their motto is to ‘expect the unexpected’” in meeting the challenges of nonstop news deadlines.
While she performed basic tasks behind the scenes that help to ensure broadcasts go smoothly, she also did more advanced things like preinterviews of athletes.
She compliments the excellent training and communication by NBC. Levesque says NBC has provided a variety of information about Russian culture, customs, geography, and history to prepare everyone working in Sochi.
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She also received security updates. “NBC [did] an amazing job of keeping us informed. Whenever something happens, they let us know,” says Levesque. “They’ve provided us the do’s and don’ts when you’re out in public, and where we’ll be in relation to other places, along with reassurances about security updates.”
Levesque says she prepared for Sochi by researching the various sports she could become involved with over the 2 weeks of international competition, as well as research on who would be going to the Olympics this year, “people who you might not know about.”
Levesque also cites her college experience as a key to her successful internship. Levesque says her classes and UCTV experience helped prepare her for the internships, particularly after she helped to implement a return to live news broadcasts on campus twice each week. Since September, she has served as general manager of the campus station, according to the blog.
“UCTV has taught me so much. I can’t imagine what I’d do without it,” she says. “What I’ve learned is not only how to manage people, but deal with pressing situations and deadlines. It’s tailored my brain to function in minute details and short deadlines. It has been integral to what I’ve been doing in and out of school.”
Why It Matters
- Internships are a valuable tool for trainers looking to spot and nurture the next generation of employees.
- They are a relatively low-risk way for employers and employees to see if this profession is a good fit for the internee.
- Internship programs should be seriously considered as a viable and useful part of any organization’s overall training program.