A Dream Come True at USA TODAY

By Dean’s Intern Yan Shi at USA TODAY

To say that it’s been a dream of mine to work at USA TODAY is an understatement. The Dean’s Internship program has given me the privilege of working at one of the best news publications in the country, and I can’t be more grateful for the opportunity. I started just little over a month ago, and, needless to say, the month’s been full of both professional and personal growth.

As the Interactive News intern, I’ve got the best of both worlds of what I am currently studying: computer programming and journalism. I can’t say I’m an expert at programming yet, but I’ve been able to start up projects for the team and learn some new languages and applications on the fly. It’s a little overwhelming, but the team is patient and always willing to lend a hand whenever I have questions or need help with a project.

Development is only half of the diverse team that I’m on. The other half handles the daily graphics and interactives used in the stories seen throughout USA TODAY online and in the newspaper. I’ve been able to play around with the different programs in Adobe Suite and learn more about the software that I’m not as familiar with, like Adobe Illustrator and After Effects. On the occasion, I make graphics called “snapshots” that contain one interesting fact that runs in the newspaper and digitally—once they’re published, I’ll be sure to link those!

There’s plenty of flexibility associated with my internship. Through different mentors on the team, I’ve met those in the multimedia department and have shadowed and helped on a small video project. I’m also encouraged to learn about other programs and to conduct research on different ways we, as a team, could be more efficient in standing up projects. My opinions and ideas matter here, and it makes me feel more confident and excited knowing that I’m being taken seriously.