Major: History

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

How did you learn about this opportunity?

My junior year roommate was a Communications major and successfully obtained an internship at B94.5, which is a local radio station. When his internship ended he accepted a full-time job with the station. Fast-forward to March of 2014 and the station was entered into a dodge ball tournament at the local YMCA. However, they needed a few more people and my former roommate called and asked me to join in just for the afternoon.

During the tournament I talked with my roommate and his co-workers who turned out to be the people who essentially run the station. They liked my outgoing personality and called me a few days later inviting me to participate in an interview and shadowing opportunity. I stood out during my shadowing experience and was invited back for a final interview and was then offered the internship.

Tell us a little bit about your experience.

This experience was nothing short of one of the most rewarding and unforgettable of my life. I learned countless things in a field in which I basically knew nothing about going into it! Radio, communications, and production were all foreign to me; however a few months later I can now say I know how a radio station really works. I learned how a segment on a show comes together with so many different aspects and angles. A segment involves much more than just two or three people talking. These segments require writers, producers, social media and marketing experts, & more.

"This experience has shown me exactly how hard I have to work and that I am capable of doing these things and accomplishing my own personal goals in regards to graduating and moving forward with my life."

How did this experience impact you academically?

This absolutely impacted me academically. Although this internship may not have been exactly in line with my major I still received valuablehands-on experience. I also learned what kind of commitment it takes to really succeed in any career field. The people at the station I worked for work really hard. This experience has shown me exactly how hard I have to work and that I am capable of doing these things and accomplishing my own personal goals in regards to graduating and moving forward with my life.

What are your career goals or plans? How did this experience impact them?

I am still not quite sure what I want to do after I graduate. When I first entered college I wanted to be a police officer, but I really fell in love with history and thought of teaching at either a high-school or college level

I received an internship in the fall doing production work with Penn State Athletics which I hope will broaden my knowledge and extend my experiences in the field of communications and production. At this point, I am going to see where this internship takes me, while still considering pursuing graduate school and becoming a teacher.

Would you recommend this experience to other liberal arts students? If yes, why?

I would absolutely recommend this experience to other liberal arts students. My advice would be even if you are not interested in that field of work, the experience is worth it because of the people you meet and the connections and friendships you make. After the internship, you will have so many more avenues to explore simply by having networked with professionals in the field who are extremely involved not only in the State College area, but also the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh areas too.