This was a fantastic internship program that I highly recommend for students interested in the world of nonfiction media and/or public media. Careful attention was paid to offering interns professional development opportunities, in particular workshops led by staff that covered skills such as networking and self-promotion. I appreciated the monthly goals check-ins we had with our supervisor. We had ample opportunities to network with staff from all the departments during informal office gatherings (like Thursday morning bagel bash!). There were lots of events at partner organizations such as DCTV that were provided further networking opportunities. The work we did was rewarding and engaging—not just administrative work (although we did some of that to be sure) but 'meatier' stuff like conducting research for and editing POV Engage communications. The office culture was warm and inclusive, and there was definitely a concerted effort made to make sure that there were lots of opportunities for interns to get to know each other as well as staff.
What I wish was different
Advice
Invite people whose work interests you out for coffee, even if (especially if!) they work in a different department. The folks I asked to coffee all seemed eager to chat about their work, and I learned a lot about public media along the way. I can't recommend it highly enough.
