internship reflection

Corny title, but that's just what this blog post is about to be...

We had to write a reflection paper for the ASME program, so I'm trying to channel some of what I wrote for it.

When I first found out I got the ASME internship, I definitely cried of happiness. I knew that if I wanted to be successful in the magazine industry, this would be the internship to make it happen. Two months in New York City, a paid internship at a national magazine, 28 friends and fellow ASME interns, tons and tons of connections... I could not have been more thrilled.

And when I got my Sports Illustrated assignment, my first thought was UH-OH!... I actually don't watch sports that often, and I definitely don't read the sports sections of the newspaper, let alone SI. So needless to say, I was a bit worried. How was that gonna work out? But, I can't say it wasn't one of my top choices. SI is the most popular sports magazine in the world, it's a respected publication, and it's a weekly... I certainly wasn't complaining. Once the internship started, I quickly realized it wasn't about how much sports I knew, but more about the skill set: fact checking, reporting, researching, interviewing, pitching ideas. I could be a successful intern without being an intense sports fan. It definitely would've helped, though... wouldn't have had to question what a yellow shirt in the Tour de France meant (means you're in first place), or what K and FB and SS indicated on depth charts. (kicker, fullback, strong safety!).../what a depth chart even is in the first place.

And just for fun, here's some random sports knowledge I acquired this summer:
Roger Federer has more major championships than Tiger Woods
See You At Peelers racehorse tied the world record for a mile on a 5/8ths mile track at Meadowlands
Women's world cup final recorded the most tweets ever
In an MLB poll, the majority of players think Las Vegas should be the next city to get a pro baseball team

My main responsibility at SI was fact checking. That means checking every single fact in a story, from the spelling of a name, to the date a certain championship was won, to if a certain athlete was married or engaged to someone at the time of a given date... it does matter. I recently had to call the sports information director at a certain university, to ask if a football player had more than one sister. A story's wording depended on it. I've fact checked plenty before, but never ever have I fact checked like this. Statistics like you wouldn't believe, or I guess, maybe you would. Verifying a certain basketball player really did have the record for rebounds in one game, by using several online database resources to check all the RPG since the beginning of NBA play. Sometimes fact checking meant going through SI's library, which is full of every media guide for professional teams, collegiate teams... dating back years and years. Every SI since 1954. Olympic guides, nonfiction novels about athletes, newspaper clippings for athletes. Everything.

But aside from that, I was lucky enough to help a writer with a research project, and write a section of the women's world cup preview for the June 27 issue. I am shocked I received a byline that quickly, but could not be more excited. That's the real deal. I have a byline in Sports Illustrated.... amazing.

You would think that working at SI would equate to me getting free sporting tickets or meeting athletes. Neither of those things happened... not that I would've wanted tickets to a Yankees game anyway. (Watching the Yanks play the Red Sox right now actually!).

Even though SI wasn't my "dream magazine" internship, it gave me more opportunities than I probably ever would've receive at another internship. I was given a lot of responsibility to do actual work, and lucked out of the coffee and errands runs a lot of interns have to go on. Not that I won't have to do those things in the future! I just got lucky. I was treated like a reporter, an actual staff member, rather than an intern... and it made my experience all the more enjoyable. But it also was a tease! I was "working" at a national publication, in a midtown skyscraper... taking the subway to and from work each day.. alongside other professionals... for two months. So awesome.

Aside from SI, the ASME internship itself was incredible. Orientation brought us a lot of speakers, and each week we had luncheons at various publications. Throughout the summer I've met editors at Glamour, People, Real Simple, InStyle, The New Yorker, HerCampus, Scientific American, the senior talent director at Hearst, dean at CUNY journalism school. My assigned ASME mentor was the wonderful Katie, a style news editor at People.com. Aside from that I've connected with many people at SI, other people my age pursuing careers in NYC... and of course, I can't forget the wonderful, incredible, talented group of ASME interns I've been lucky enough to be with this summer. It's so nice to be surrounded by a group of students with similar journalism backgrounds and goals as myself. I've finally been able to talk freely about magazines with people! And even though we're all primarily interested in a career in magazines, we still have different goals within that. Some of us want to freelance, others want to be EICs... some want to start their own magazine. We're not all competing for the same EA position at a certain magazine in particular, although I'm sure a lot of us would be happy to have it! Everyone in the ASME program is so talented, and I know everyone is going really far with whatever they do. It's been an honor living with, hanging out with and being in ASME with them. I'm sure I'll be seeing a lot of them in the future :)

This summer I've been given so many networking opportunities, met so many great people and received so much wonderful advice and words of wisdom from them all. I actually can't even fathom how many powerful, prominent and successful people I've met.

At our ASME graduation lunch, the editor of SELF, summed it up when she said how this summer hasn't been about like "oh I got to go to this event, oh my gosh so cool you work at Sports Illustrated, wow you interviewed this celebrity, yada yada." Yeah, we think it's cool, too, but for us interns, the best part of our summer has been meeting so many great people, and most of all, getting to do what we love, which is work with magazines and journalism. It's awesome I got a byline, but for me... what's even more awesome is that I met all those aforementioned editors, networked, and left this summer feeling like I was successful. The best feeling has been the relief I feel about my future career with magazines. I have a chance, there is possibility, a big possibility actually, of me getting a job with magazines. It's not a question of if for me, it's a question of when. And I can't express how great that feeling is. I think for all of us interns, this summer gave us a boost of confidence... and with journalism students about to be seniors and graduate, confidence is a great thing.

I've never had a job where I was excited to go into work every day. But this summer, I can't remember a day when I dreaded going to work. Except maybe the day after my 21st birthday, but that's a different story. The SELF editor, Lucy, also mentioned that not many Americans love their jobs... most Americans probably can't say that actually... so it's pretty cool I feel that way about magazines.

I'll be moving to New York next summer to pursue my career in magazines. And while I'm not sure what magazine I'll end up at, it's nice to know what I want to do with the rest of my life. And having the resources and confidence to do it, is even better.

.........

So, now I have 10 days at home, which I hope to fill with a trip to Boston, trip to my lake house, some beach time and of course catching up with friends. And then, it's finally back to Milwaukee for this girl. I need me some Marquette.

Thanks for following me on my NYC summer adventure everyone! xx

Oops. Meant to blog earlier in the week! Let's see, what have I been up to...

Monday
- work/nothing special

Tuesday
My day off! I ran some errands, got some exercise in (greatly needed) then went to visit with my godfather and his family. They were hosting a shiva for his mother who passed away, but it wasn't a sad thing. More of a socializing, eating food, being with friends type thing. It was good to see some of these people I haven't seen in so long! My godfather's sisters know everyone in this city, so during the time I was there, I met a former NFL player (Patriots!) and the current CEO of Martha Stewart Omnimedia, who is also the former CEO of EMI Records and has produced some of Frank Sinatra's records. Awesome. I briefly talked with him but I was pretty intimated. He's not a celebrity, but he's a pretty big deal, so it was fair to say I was kind of star struck.

photo of me and my godfather. Photo below it is of me and my godfather's son, Brandon

Afterward, I went to this intern networking event with my friend Caroline and her friend Katherine. It was a little too crowded, so after a half hour we left and went to McDonald's for ice cream sundaes instead. When you've been networking all summer, sometimes you just don't wanna do it anymore. And would prefer to have ice cream.

Wednesday--
Went to Shake Shack (again. addicted) with a Marquette grad, Ashley, who is working at Redbook in the city. Then at night I met fellow ASME intern, Jess, to see Zach Braff's new play "All New People" at the Second Stage Theatre. A few familiar faces acted in the play, a guy from the Hangover, girl from 27 Dresses, another girl from True Blood. Here's the link..
http://www.2st.com/component/option,com_plays/task,viewPlay/id,147
It was a great, great performance! Hilarious, moving at times, great story line and theme. Thank you Mary Carroll (London professor) for getting me into performing arts. I really did leave Europe so much more cultured.

Thursday--
work work work. Met Jackie for dinner at Heartland Brewery. I'm so glad I was able to see her a few times this summer, and that girl better get her butt out to Milwaukee this fall. So our little London abroad group can reunite. After dinner I met the interns and some SI reporters at a bar in midtown for happy hour. It was so much fun! After we were there for awhile, we went to a karaoke bar. 10 of us squeezed into a little room and sang our hearts out. Total Eclipse of the Heart, Jackson 5 songs, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, Complicated by Avril Lavigne. It was pretty awesome. One of my favorite nights of the summer.

And now here I am: LAST DAY AT SPORTS ILLUSTRATED! ahhhhhh :( there isn't much to do, but luckily I have an ASME graduation lunch soon. At Remi, a really fancy schmancy restaurant in midtown. It's so sad today is the last day. Some of the interns are leaving tonight. Can't believe it's over. Wahhh. best summer ever.

Okay, well, I'm actually headed to the lunch now, soooo as promised, I'll post a reflective blog entry on Sunday, after I've moved back home. yay home!

final stretch

Welp, after 8 weeks, I'm headed into my final week in New York and at my Sports Illustrated internship. It's pretty bittersweet. While I am so not ready to give up this amazing, awesome, once-in-a-lifetime experience... I'm ready to go home for (10 days, eek!), relax with my family and dog, get out to the Cape for a beach day, explore Boston a little bit (now that I'm comfortable traveling on my own!) and catch up with some friends... hopefully even get up to my lake house in New Hampshire. Lots to do in such a short time. Then on Aug. 17 I'm headed back to Milwaukee with my mom to move into my new apartment and get settled back at Marquette. Never thought I'd be so excited to go back to Milwaukee, but I really am! I miss my best friends, good ol' Johnston Hall where I spend all my time working on the Journal and Tribune, professors... basically, I just miss knowing people I pass by on the streets. It's really something you don't know to appreciate.. being able to say hi to a few friendly faces on the way to class.

But, like I said, not so excited to leave the great summer I've had. Yeah me and New York have had our not so good moments, but overall it's been an exciting city to live in. The perfect transition from Europe back into real life at school. And the internship itself? Incredible. From all the ASME luncheons with editors, to the networking events, to getting my very own byline at SI and conducting numerous research interviews.... this has been the most worthwhile, positive experience. I've been walking in and out of the Sports Illustrated offices basically every day for two months. I am one lucky girl.

I'll rant more about my experience when Friday is all said and done with.

But in the meantime, here's what I'll be up to this next week:

Monday- work, work and more work
Tuesday- volunteered to go into work to help with the iPad stuff; networking event Tuesday night
Wednesday- Day off! So many things I want to do. Guggenheim? Met (again? I haven't even seen 1/4 of that place), Governor's Island, Brooklyn?; then a group of us want to see Zach Braff's play "All New People"
Thursday- Top of the Rock? I heard there are amazing views from up there. And then after work it sounds like a bunch of us at the office are going out! Should be fun!
Friday- waking up at the crack of dawn to see Nicki Minaj at Good Morning America's summer concert series; the ASME graduation lunch is at a super fancy restaurant called Remi; then the interns are getting dinner together at a delicious italian place next to our apartment
Saturday- Coney Island for the first part of the day, then packing up to go home!!

Lots to do and see. Crazy how time flies!

I'll update mid-week!

grandmum

2 years ago today (7/29/09) I lost my grandmother, my friend, my number one fan, my hero.

I don't need the anniversary to remind me how much I miss her. It's an every day type of feeling. An emotion that hasn't ever left, and never will. Something that hasn't gotten any easier to bear. This is what it feels like to have a piece of your heart missing.

It just isn't fair.

But with my family and friends, I learn to smile and delight in my successes, knowing that Grandmum is still just as happy for me and proud of me as she always was.

"Missing someone gets easier every day because even though it's one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will."

Adored my Grandmum from Day 1

Granddaddy, Grandmum, me and Wil

Grandmum's birthday (circa 2005)

Spring 2009- so glad I made that trip to Florida

my favorite photo of all time

Exploring NYC

Get excited. I finally have a lot to blog about. Also, let's hope you have some time on your hands because I did a lot in the past two days!

Dara, a friend from high school and fellow Town Crier staff member (high school newspaper, ask us how much time we spent on that darn thing....... so.many.hours.) came into town on Tuesday, but I wasn't able to meet up with her until about 2 p.m. because I had the last ASME luncheon of the summer. The session was titled "Art of the Job Search" and we met with the executive director of talent at Hearst magazines. I don't think we've ever had so many questions for one person. From how long a resume should be, to if we should write handwritten thank you note or send e-mails, to what should we do our senior year to stay in contact with everyone we've met this summer. I think it was one of my favorite luncheons, and I learned SO much. The speaker... his name is Eliot by the way... was realistic with us, which is much appreciated. No beating around the bush. But he was also hopeful, which was such a relief. He told us yeah, you're still young, go travel for a little bit before you settle into a job. Told us we could work for a regional magazine and then transition to a national mag in NY. Basically, he informed us that we have lot more options than we thought we had. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we left that luncheon feeling a lot less stressed about this whole job search thing. Most people say, oh you can't get a job in journalism, never mind national magazines, but that's totally not true. Yeah it's difficult, but not impossible. Not a question of if, but rather a question of when. And I'm OK with that.

Well, back to the fun things: Dara and I met up, I showed her my office (she was impressed haha) and then we headed to the Met where we met up with Caroline. Plan was to see Alexander McQueen exhibit, and even though the lines was an hour long... we decided to wait. Even though I've seen the exhibit before, and a second time isn't all that different, I'm still so impressed with McQueen's fashion and skill. Now, if only I could get to London to see Kate Middleton's McQueen wedding dress on display in Buckingham Palace. 

But wait. I did see it, on Kate herself, on her wedding day. Win!

Here's a photo of Dara and I outside the museum.

 Afterward Dara and I went back to my place, relaxed for a little bit then grabbed dinner at a Thai place nearby. Delicious, and not too expensive. I really love Thai food. We left to grab the subway over to Brooklyn, to a park next to the Brooklyn Bridge that I heard gave the most beautiful views of Manhattan. On the way, we spotted the Manhattan Bridge...

And then came upon this glorious sight... Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan:

Dara and I. Can you see the stormy clouds? Those would come into play a little later...

As it got darker outside... this is such a pretty photo I think. Love my new camera!

And another beautiful photo. Can't get enough of this view.

And then it rained cats and dogs, literally came out of nowhere. Everyone, including the photography class who had all their nice cameras out taking photos, started running for cover. After hiding next to a building, we moved on to a random apartment lobby and stood in there with two older ladies and a girl about my age. I heard them speaking Spanish and so I asked where they were from... too chicken to ask in Spanish though. They said Spain. Ugh. Of course. Europe. I asked where in Spain, one was from Madrid, the other from Sevilla. Even worse, I miss Spain. But this is one of those instances when I love NYC. When am I going to encounter people from Spain in Milwaukee, or Shrewsbury for the matter? Never. But New York, I've heard so many different languages in just this past week. Love it.

Dara and I went back to my place and.. dried off.. then headed to the movie theater in the hopes of well, seeing a movie. But of course, because the movie was rated R, they decided to CARD US! And Dara's ID was back at my apartment with security since she was checked in with me, sooooo they didn't let us in! Crazy. All we wanted to do was see a movie. We walked back to my place, tail between my legs, but $13 richer and the realization that oh wait, we're actually really tired and want to sleep. But first I showed Dara some of my Europe photos, like the Venice photos. Why? Lucky girl is studying in Venice next spring. Grrr.....

I guess I had my chance. Better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Rheanna my roommate told me that. Makes sense. But still.

Today (Wednesday) Dara and I ventured to SoHo to find a Nars store. Nars is a makeup company, and supposedly they were giving out free regular sized samples of this shimmer/illuminating product. I love free things! Especially free things that are usually $30. We found the store, got our free samples, signed up for more deals, and tried some nail polish. I currently have four nails painted four different colors. 

Here's a photo of some cute apartment in SoHo...

Then we made it to Chelsea Market where we grabbed a small lunch...

and afterward went over to the High Line for a sunburn. Well no, but that's what happened. Just a little on my shoulders. I love the High Line! I need to go more often. Next time, with sunscreen.

An apartment building next to the High Line...

And then, we started walking (with much anticipation) toward Shake Shack, a place I've been wanting to go for two months! Known for their yummy shakes and burgers, and hour-long lines, Shake Shack is the place to be. But we planned to go around 3 or 4, so we'd beat the lunch and dinner lines. Smart thinking if I do say so myself.

On the way, we ran into the Flat Iron building!

And finally, Shake Shack in all its glory.

We waited about a half hour, not too bad, and I ordered fries, a cheeseburger and chocolate shake. Can you say healthy? Whatever. It was delicious and all I had hoped for.

Then, with time to spare before Dara had to go to her bus, we went to Eataly which was right nearby. Eataly is the next best thing aside from Italy itself. Basically a large Italian food department store. One part was a cafe with espresso and cute Italian coffee drinkers, then there was a gelato area. Then there was the Italian candy store, home made pasta deli area, fresh fish market, meats, a bar with Italian beers (of course) and multiple restaurants. Literally, several Italian restaurants, some nicer than others. It was pretty darn Italian and... amazing. Website: http://eatalyny.com/

Here's a photo, of 1/10th of the place...

And that was that. Dara went on her way back to Shrewsbury, where I will be headed in about 10 days. Crazy. But I am so, so glad she was here these two days to give me some motivation to do these things I wanted to do! So many checks off my bucket list. But so many more to go... for example:

-Coney Island
-A play, I have a few in mind but need to make some plans!
-Guggenheim
-Brooklyn Flea Market
-Governor's Island?

Aside from that, so much to do with my internship. More people to meet, lots more work to do (hopefully some writing coming up... ). Ah, final stretch!

Have I lost any of you yet? Welp, I'm done talking. You're free. Adios!

Hello!

It's Monday night, which means time for my weekend! My friend Dara from high school is coming into town tomorrow and we have a busy two days planned out. After my ASME luncheon tomorrow with the talent director at Hearst, Dara and I will meet up and head to the Met to see the Alexander McQueen exhibit. It will be my 5th time at the museum but meh, can't seem to stay away. I haven't seen more than the impressionism, modern art and McQueen exhibit... soooo, I have like 11/12ths of the museum left. I'll get to it...

Then we're planning to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge, make dinner at my apartment, get dessert at Magnolia Bakery and perhaps see a movie. Adventurous day, but still relaxing. Wednesday will be our Chelsea and SoHo shopping days, and then, what I've been waiting all summer for: Shake Shack. The shake shack, known for all things unhealthy, milkshakes, hamburger and fries. yum.

Finally, I have some motivation to make the most of my days off. Otherwise I'd be sleeping in, and really not doing too much. I guess I can relax when I go home, next week. Ah!!! A week and a half from now. Crazy. Lots to do in the meantime.

What have I been up to otherwise?

Work, work and more work. I still don't really dread or ever not look forward to going into the office, which is a great thing. Aka, first job where this is the case. I've also been pretty busy organizing stuff for the school magazine. For readers who don't know, I'm the editor in chief of the magazine next year. Meaning, I have a lot on my plate. From choosing content, overseeing production and staff to talking/planning with the design and photog teams, to communicating with the ad and marketing departments... talking with faculty and our advisors about technical stuff, and now helping to organize student media orientation...  busy busy busy. All on top of my internship. I'm ready to get back to Milwaukee and only concentrate on Journal stuff. I still feel somewhat out of the loop not having been on campus in 9 MONTHS! way excited to get back. I miss my friends :(

This past Saturday, in the 98 degree weather, Lizzie and I trekked to the Hestor St. Fair, which ended up being way smaller than I thought, but cool nonetheless. We browsed the artsy stands and looked at all of our food options, before Lizzie settled with some dim sum, and I went with currywurst. I was obsessed with it in Berlin, so it was glorious to taste it again. I love currywurst. I'll post a photo blog entry soon... don't quite feel like uploading photos now!

Then Saturday night I met up with my friend Caroline from study abroad, and we explored the West Village and ended up running into my roomies Rheanna, Rosie and Rosie's friend... small world! There's a really popular pizza place called Artichoke right nearby so Caroline and I grabbed a slice of artichoke pizza, which I still don't really know what artichoke is, but it had a creamy alfredo sauce and was deliciousssss. yum. but so filling. too filling. needless to say, I felt gross Sunday morning when I woke up for work.

Other than that, not much is new. Tuesday (today by the time this is posted) is my brother's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY WIL!

I'll update after my adventures with Dara.

Byeee

Here's a really great stop motion video of New York City!

Aaaaand here's one of Paris, which makes me miss it so much. Actually met some French guys from Paris last night... also made me miss it. Ugh.