Coming to USC, I had the goal of striving for success, and once I got here it was clear to me that Annenberg wanted me to be successful too. The Annenberg Career Center not only sends emails to Annenberg students with information on amazing job or internship opportunities but also offers career advice sessions, Q&A panels with Annenberg alumni, and career treks to help guide you when trying to decide what career path you want. In my case, the Career Center helped me land a virtual internship this semester!
Currently, I am a writing intern at Halloween Every Night. This website is a news, culture and lifestyle blog as if it were Halloween every night, year-round. Fun right! Since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, I knew I had to apply when I saw this internship in one of the emails that Annenberg sent me. Since I started at Halloween Every Night, I’ve been responsible for watching and reporting virtual horror film festivals where I’ve had the opportunity to view early screenings of horror films or films from small production teams. Although it is daunting to watch horror movies, it is amazing that I have the opportunity to attend these screenings with a press pass and then report on them.
Since I’m a Public Relations major and this internship is more journalism-based, it has helped my writing and reporting skills drastically. Aside from attending film festival screenings, I’ve reported highlights from virtual panels announcing new details on the current The Walking Dead season, written news releases to announce upcoming horror film festivals, and drafted short features on Halloween traditions.
This has been my first internship experience with a company outside of USC, and it’s safe to say that many hours have been spent on projects in my role as a writing intern. While attending online zoom classes and doing daily homework, this internship has taught me the importance of time management and communication! Balancing the two was definitely an adjustment since both schoolwork and tasks for the internship require a great amount of effort and time. In the past, I’ve been able to manage two on-campus jobs while managing classes however, this was when courses were in-person and I did not have to stare at a computer screen for countless hours a day.
My best tip that I have learned throughout juggling my two responsibilities outside of being an Annenberg Ambassador has been to write EVERYTHING down. Writing down my priorities for the week on a planner has helped me immensely and gives my eyes a break from the computer screen. I am a very visual person, so seeing my tasks for each day in front of me helps navigate how to harmonize each assignment in sections so it doesn’t get too overwhelming. Also, this allows me to visually see what days will be busier so I can prepare my schedule.
Although I’ve had my moments of feeling overwhelmed, my job as an intern has been so beneficial for my professional growth. I have learned how to properly write and report as a journalist, which will allow me to become more efficient when I have to write news releases for future PR endeavors. I have also received great feedback from my bosses that I can apply to other educational projects. Aside from the writing, this experience has taught me how to communicate with professionals in a business setting. In Annenberg PR classes, I have learned how to communicate with professionals in-person or via e-mail, but this virtual internship has really allowed me to practice those tactics like no other.
If I hadn’t utilized the amazing Annenberg Career Center I wouldn’t have had this incredible opportunity to represent a professional company or learn how to balance numerous commitments at once. As much as I wish I could have experienced this internship in-person, I am so grateful that Annenberg is allowing their students to be aware of all the virtual opportunities available.
