Journalism Summer Intern

This summer I  had the opportunity to intern for the Danbury Westerners where I was able to hone my writing skills. I was spending more hours at my computer than I’d like to during the summer, though it was a very rewarding experience. From getting an interview that was over twelve minutes long to having writer's block, it was all a whirlwind.

Most people ask me about  the interview process, and how I came about this job. My older brother, Hayden , was a player for two years, therefore I had been exposed to the team already.

 I was searching for ways to get involved with journalism over the summer, and since my brother was going to be playing with the Westerners again, I reached out to the Intern Coordinator, Bill Guider. From there, we set up a phone call and discussed what my role would be at the Danbury Westerners. 

A regular day for me at Rogers Park, consisted of preparing questions to ask my next interviewee, and gaining a lot of patience. I had been to many summer baseball games a year prior, and sitting at a baseball game was not easy, since I had to wait until my interviewee had some downtime.

The Danbury Westerners gave me an experience that I will always remember, considering it was my first internship and ‘real-world’ experience with journalism. 

I was very afraid going into my first day because I knew I was going to be the youngest person in the working environment. I had really wanted to get a taste of what professional journalism was going to be, since it was a career I was interested in pursuing in the future. 

I do think most people would question why I would want to be writing multiple essays during the summer without getting any sort of payment. But honestly, it was very satisfying to post my articles on the Instagram page, and receive positive feedback from fans.

The process included going on Flickr, going to our team photographer Josie Cancro’s account, and selecting a photo that captured the essence of the article. Generally, the articles were about one person, so I would look for the specific person in the photo folder and choose my favorite one.

Once that was done, I would go onto Facebook Meta for Business. The social media intern Campbell Heatley and I would take turns posting media for the fans to see. There was a character limit, so at times it was quite frustrating removing words to make sure everything was able to fit into the right amount of space. 

The Danbury Westerners provided me with the perfect opportunity to get started in journalism, with a positive and hardworking environment. I was taught how to work in Facebook Meta, which is an area I have never had experience with before. It taught me to go outside of my comfort zone, and talk to adults in a more professional setting, with more professional grammar. 

According to The Conversation, data shows that over 70 percent  of students who completed an internship reported severe growth in communication skills, problem solving skills, and teamwork skills. 80 percent of students involved in the study say that internship experience helped expand social and professional networks. 

An internship is a great introduction into the real world, and can build a foundation for your future. It helped me become more professional, in a writing manner.