Doing Rewarding Work at Current.org

sarawiseatcurrentBy Dean’s Intern Sara Wise at Current.org

As far as internships go, Current has been a great jumping off point.

After my time as Sports Editor at a small daily in Tennessee, my portfolio was mostly filled with soft feature stories and (you guessed it) sports.

But from my first feature about a Salt Lake City PBS station’s local programming focused on teen suicide to a recent piece on children of undocumented immigrant, I’ve reported on much more than just public media.

As part of a special edition of the newspaper, I was also able to tackle police brutality and the role public media can play in the fight for racial equality.

Working with editors at Current, I’ve learned more about the public media industry — both television and radio — while strengthening my portfolio and my writing skills. Because I’m only in the office once a week this semester, I’ve found myself scheduling interviews between classes, on weekends and late into the evening as I juggle multiple stories and deadlines.

My stories have gone through rigorous editing, making me a better writer and editor, and teaching me better interviewing skills.

The most rewarding part of the semester has been finishing each piece and seeing my hard work go online and in print as a finished product that I’ll keep throughout my career. Current has afforded me the opportunity to do rewarding work that reaches into and far beyond the public media sphere. I feel better suited for the next opportunity to come my way — not bad for my first internship experience!