ISABELLA DISTEFANO
Asst. Social Media Manager
Every journalism student at SUNY Fredonia must complete an internship for credit to fulfill their degree requirements.
Because I transferred as a junior from a community college to Fredonia, I was already behind. Therefore I made it my mission to seek any and every opportunity I could to obtain an internship.
Fast forward two years later, and I’ve had five internships.
You may be wondering how I did it.
Here are three ways I went about obtaining internships.
Networking
I solely obtained the second internship by networking.
In May 2019, I attended a conference in New York City for young professionals hoping to embark in the media and entertainment industry.
I was encouraged over the three days of the conference to network and to reach out and seek opportunities.
About a month after the conference, I took it upon myself to reach out to the founder of the conference.
I understood that the conference was relatively new, and there could be room for volunteer work.
I used this to my advantage and ended up being offered an internship instead.
Volunteering your time
Some people won’t volunteer. They believe it’s a waste of time.
They couldn’t be any more wrong — this is how I received my first internship.
I got an email one day during the summer from one of my professors asking if I could help him out with shooting a concert for a not-for-profit organization that he’s involved in.
The semester before, I had taken a studio production course, so I understood the basic rules of shooting video. Was I any good at it? That depends on who you ask.
The following fall, I was offered an internship working with him for that same not-for-profit organization.
Pure luck
To this day, I am surprised I obtained this internship.
It was late one night, and I was scrolling through Handshake.
Handshake is a platform through which students can apply for internships and search for jobs.
It was midnight and I was exhausted, but I saw a post for an internship writing food reviews and travel pieces.
I’ve always wanted to be a travel journalist, so naturally, I was intrigued.
I applied for the internship, and later that morning, I received a response.
Long story short, by the end of that week, I obtained my third internship.
Was it luck? Most likely.
Opportunities won’t appear in front of you. It takes time, effort and a little luck to make them happen.
What opportunities are you making happen?