My C-SPAN internship reflection

In April, I was on pins and needles concerned about where I would be working for the summer. Just a year before, applied for the T. Howard Foundation didn’t secure an internship with a host company. Determined to get an internship through this prestigous foundation, I re-applied in the Fall of 2016. So there I was in April of 2017 feeling hopeless again because the end of the semester was near. During my last week of classes, T. Howard gave me a call and said C-SPAN in Washington, DC would like to offer me an internship in their digital media department. I was cried tears of joy because getting an internship the summer before my senior year was very important to me in terms of advancing in my career. On top of being placed at C-SPAN, I was finally admitted into the T. Howard Foundation as a member of the Class of 2017! Not to mention an internship in my hometown at a major media network? I couldn’t ask for a better opportunity. As I enter my last day at C-SPAN, I would be remiss to not reflect on my experience and how it helped me grow as a multimedia journalist.

My internship at C-SPAN was my first internship at a major media network. I worked in the digital media department under the Web designer, Tony Laboy. I assisted Tony with various projects for C-SPAN.org such as designing promotional fliers for segments, electronic programming guides, graphics for shows such as the “The Washington Journal” and re-designing subpages on C-SPAN.org. Working in the digital media department has significantly improved my skills in Adobe Photoshop, (which was the main software used) and my eye for design.

C-SPAN Summer 2017 interns were amazing! In the short span of two months, I met so many like-minded people my age who are definitely going places. I am so fortunate to be a part of The T. Howard foundation with 123 other young media professionals interning all over the U.S. I’m also very fortunate to have met like-minded people at C-SPAN who grew to be close friends of mine by the end of the summer. The comradery at C-SPAN was like no other, especially with the intern class. We ate lunch with each other on the roof of the Hall of States building with a view of the Capitol and the monument. The connections made span so far, that I now have a close friend from Cape town, South Africa who also interned at C-SPAN this summer. I feel inspired to be the best I can be because I have been surrounded by millennials who are thriving with goals. I believe it’s so important to have people who are doing just as much, if not more than you because it will only motivate you to work harder.

At the first intern lunch with the CEO Brian Lamb and VP Susan Swain. Brian Lamb tasked all of the interns to find out what the future of C-SPAN is. At first, it was just going to be something I thought about and come up with an answer. But I thought on it, and I wanted to figure out how I could leave C-SPAN with something valuable and of course leave C-SPAN better than when I arrived. After conversations with friends and family, I decided that I would produce a documentary where I interviewed millennials and got their feedback on C-SPAN and how the network can improve its millennial audience. I believe the future of C-SPAN lies in the hands of their audience.

Millennials are the future, so attracting and increasing their millennial audience would help the network stay around. So I took on the challenge and produced the documentary entirely from my phone. Yes, you read that right, my phone (no excuses young media professionals). I spent $40 on equipment which included an iPhone tripod, an external mic and the free iMovie app. The project took about 3 weeks to produce. I was able to interview nine millennials and get their perspective. This production wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my interviewees who volunteered their time, my parents and C-SPAN for allowing me time to practice my creativity and take time from to focus on producing my documentary. This was a great practice for me but it also served as valuable resource for C-SPAN. Brian Lamb, CEO, gave me nothing but praises for my work and “Three gold stars” in his words. The link to watch the documentary will be attached below.

It’s safe to say that the Toward Foundation gave me lemons and I made lemonade. I am so blessed for the opportunity and forever indebted in the T. Howard Foundation for jumpstarting my career in media. Now it’s time for me to give back to the foundation that gave to me!

Watch my documentary "C-SPAN: The Millennial Perspective" HERE!