College is hard for many students. Long lectures, 10-20 page papers, and exams are just some of the struggles that go along with college life. There is however a shining light (besides graduating) that appeals to many students and it is interning. Interning can change or confirm your career choices. Jefferson Community and Technical College’s Department of Communication has an internship program. This semester there are four students involved in the program. These students are interning at Adhawks Advertising and Public Relations, Brain Injury Association of Kentucky, and Main Line Broadcasting.
Professor Mona Leonard is the internship director and chair of the communication department. According to Leonard, “Jefferson Community and Technical College had the internship program in place, but the program languished for sometime. There were also no guidelines set.” She established guidelines and marketed the program. The existing guidelines are you must be approved by the internship director, have a minimum GPA of 2.0 and it is recommended that you have taken COM 101, COM 181, JOU 101, ENG 101 and ENG 102 before enrolling. Even then you are not guaranteed placement into the program. The program only has five students interning at a time. After placement, she requires that students maintain a work log, portfolio of their work, and write an academic paper.
Leonard says “the most challenging thing in the program is matching students with the internship opportunity they’re most interested in.” Placement is also affected by the nearby universities. Some media outlets that accept interns are more likely to take students from a university rather than a two-year college. Despite that Leonard says, “JCTC’s communication internship program is very successful. Since 2006, the communication internship program is at 80 -100 percent enrollment. We’ve placed students at Public Radio Partnership, Creative Alliance Advertising, WDRB TV Fox 41, and Clear Channel Radio. These media outlets had never accepted JCTC communication students before.”
Tianna Thompson is a communication major and is enrolled in the internship program. She is working at Adhawks Advertising and Public Relations. She received an email from professor Leonard about the program and she emailed right back because she was interested. Thompson says, “I didn’t intend on working for the Adhawks Agency in the beginning. However, working at Adhawks Advertising and Public Relations has been all that I’d expected.” Thompson previously interned at the Brain Injury Association of Kentucky in public relations and enjoyed it so she was interested in interning again. Thompson prepares press releases and does proof reading, editing and setting up events. Thompson is now working on an event called the Cross Cultural Summit. She says,” I definitely believe that working at Adhawks is a helpful experience for the future.” Thompson believes that “interning at JCTC is a very positive thing and I hope more students will get involved in the program.” The internship program has confirmed Thompson’s career choice. Thompson says, “The hardest thing to do there is just learning the ins and outs of the business but the easiest is writing. Writing comes easy to me.”
Fallon Tinney is another student in the internship program working at the Brain Injury Association of Kentucky. She heard about the internship program from professor Leonard. She says she didn’t have a specific request for placement. Tinney says, “Working at the Brain Injury Association of Kentucky is a different experience, but I’m learning a lot.” Tinney started in her internship in public relations in February. She enjoys her placement because its gives her valuable public relations experience for her future. “I believe this is a helpful experience because I get to network, get my name out there and get hands on experience in communication and business” she explains. Tinney is going to school full time and working so one of the difficult things for her is getting the number of hours required completed for the semester. She says, “The easiest thing is they don’t judge me. They just want to teach me.”
Main Line Broadcasting has been accepting interns from JCTC since 2006. Prima Moorman and Tiana Middleton are two communication majors who are interning there now. Moorman began in the previous fall semester working at Main Line Broadcasting and has been hooked ever since. Moorman got started by replying to Leonard's email to communication majors. She wants a career in urban radio so she preferred working at the local station B96.5, which is owned by Main Line Broadcasting.
Moorman says, “I didn’t know what to expect but I thought it was going to be more challenging.” Moorman loves this program because it has boosted her confidence in her career plan of radio. Her work consists of updating the entertainment and community calendar for two stations, doing various filing and on air experience. Moorman states, “It’s not hard for me because communicating comes easy. The hardest thing is not being able to ride with them to events.” Tiana Middleton has just recently been accepted into Main Line Broadcasting and has wanted to be a part of this program for a long time. Middleton says, “I’m excited to be there. The only difficult thing for me is getting to know different aspects about the business.”
I participated in the internship program in 2008 and can say that I loved every minute of it. I also had the fortunate opportunity to intern at Main Line Broadcasting’s B96.5. I learned so much of the radio business that’s behind the microphone. I reported to Valerie Sickles (her photograph is inserted), director of community and urban affairs at Main Line Broadcasting and she was a great teacher. I learned everything from sound set up, on air production, promotion, and public affairs. I couldn’t have asked for a better program.
Communication majors should take advantage of the internship program at JCTC. The guidelines are not impossible and if you are a focused person this would be a great opportunity. When you intern you get to learn a lot of things about a field that you didn’t know before.
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