Hello faithful COMS blog readers! Today we’re profiling an internship that was completed so long ago that the student is now an alum, but better late than never! This is what happens when I clean my mailbox, ha ha. In any case, let me introduce former Communication Studies major, current Communication Studies alum Daniel Shin and his internship at CSPAN in Washington, DC!
COMS alum Daniel Shin, former intern at C-SPAN
Q: Where did you intern and what do they do?
Daniel: I interned at C-SPAN in Washington D.C! C-SPAN is a media network that focuses on proceedings of the U.S House of Representatives and the U.S Senate. They also broadcast public forums and hearings regarding public policy but my favorite part was watching president Obama’s speeches.
Q: How did you find this internship?
Daniel: I found this internship through a fellow student on the USF in D.C program. During her interview at C-SPAN, they asked her if she knew of anyone who would also like working at C-SPAN and she mentioned my name. I was contacted and that led to an interview. I’m really grateful to my friend because she mentioned me and I realized that sending in applications online isn’t the only way to gain an internship.
Q: Why did you decide to intern there?
Daniel: To be honest, I wasn’t sure what type of work I wanted to do before working at C-SPAN. Working at C-SPAN was my first internship. Prior to being contacted by C-SPAN and while I was sending applications to various openings online, I really had difficulty translating my classroom interests to jobs in the real world. When I found out that they had a digital media position available, I decided to give it a try, even though I didn’t initially have digital media in my radar. I knew that media would entail some type of communication and I wanted to see what it was like to work at a cable/media company.
Q: What did you do on a regular basis at your internship?
Daniel: I was part of the digital media team and I would be in charge of online streaming so that videos would play smoothly on C-SPAN.org. In addition, I would create small video clips and write short explanations for those proceedings shown on the front page. I also learned basic Photoshop skills by helping out on C-SPAN online advertising. Eventually, I asked to retouch still images of politicians used on the website.
Q: What did you learn from this internship?
Daniel: I think that most important skill I learned from C-SPAN was learning how to be more confident in my work as well as asking for more challenging projects. When I started the internship, I would go to the editor for each excerpt I wrote, thinking I needed his feedback during the process of writing each one. I think I was just afraid of having my work critiqued or the words not matching the style used at C-SPAN. At one point I could tell he wanted me to just figure it by myself. Navigating the line between asking for directions and learning how to do it on your own is the most important skill I learned at C-SPAN. On the technical side, Photoshop was the most useful skill I learn. It’s been really useful and I use Photoshop at my current job too.
Q: What advice do you have for other students looking for an internship?
Daniel: Go to the internship fairs at USF. It’s great for networking and you can show who you are as a person along with your resume. In addition, I’d say apply to as many different internships as you can. I’ve been rejected to a lot but I still believe that the more you put in the better chance you have in securing an internship. Good luck!
