Though fall classes just started, some School of Journalism students have been hard at work all summer, learning on the job.

A variety of summer internships, from working at MTV to reporting for a Kentucky newspaper to working at a Bloomington advertising firm, supplied over 80 students with on-the-job experiences. Some had to learn to live in unfamiliar cities and others had to improve their multitasking skills.

"I got to work on a more diverse range of stories than what I expected coming into the internship," said Haley Beck in response to an e-mail inquiry. She and Brittany Hite, both juniors, worked at the Frankfort (Ky.) State Journal. "I was given less guidance than I would have hoped. It was more like getting thrown into things and figuring it out as I went along."

Junior Kelly Solenberg worked at Emmis Communications' radio station WIBC in Indianapolis and says her internship "went way above my expectations. I figured since I was an intern, they wouldn't trust me with much. Even though I didn't really know what to expect, I thought I would be stapling papers and making coffee early in the morning. Granted, sometimes I found myself delivering things throughout the building, but I also was trusted with a lot of work."

Over 200 students take on internships throughout the year. Most students work with Marcia Debnam, School of Journalism career services director, to find and apply for internships. Throughout the school year, Debnam sends weekly updates and notices about such opportunities.

"The deadlines for summer internships begin in October and end in June. It's best not to wait to apply, however, because often the best and most desirable positions will be taken early," she said.

In addition to on-the-job learning, summer internships provide a change of location, something that junior Anne Zelek valued.

"I knew going into the internship that any entertainment position was going to land me a huge amount of busy-work (which it did), but I also knew that it would give me a lot of insight into the industry and some great contacts for the future (which it did)," she wrote in an e-mail. Zelek worked in the music video and radio promotions department at Universal Music Group in New York City.

"I also knew that the experience would push me in ways I couldn't predict because of geography alone. Going from the suburbs of Cincinnati to the Upper West Side of New York City was incredibly exciting, but it also tested my independence," she said. "I was grateful for the experience, though, as having a big internship in a big city gave me the opportunity to rise to a big challenge."

Along with the traditional intern jobs such as assisting managers and editors, reporting and proofreading, students found themselves handling some unusual tasks and enjoying some unexpected perks.

Senior Joanna Borns, editorial intern at Indy Men's Magazine in Indianapolis, put her journalism research skills to use to find out how much scotch it would to make the Loch Ness monster drunk for a feature on scotch whiskey. Borns didn't laugh off this quirky assignment.

"I could've just come up with a number, but I knew doing a good job could lead to more writing opportunities. So I made a detailed chart of the hypothetical effects of alcohol on the Loch Ness monster," she explained. "After that, they began asking me to write other things and I ended up with more clips."


And it's that experience - clips or tapes added to a portfolio - that makes an internship something more valuable than just a summer navigating in a big city or gofering in a newsroom.

"My internship experience was everything I thought that it would be, and more," said junior Josh Lewis, who spent three months as a baseball reporter in the city of Chicago, covering both the Cubs and the White Sox for ESPN radio. "While at first I was unsure of how much 'reporting' I would actually be able to do, I was quickly thrown into the mix just one week into the job. Through interviewing players, managers, and coaches, booking guests to come on various radio shows, and establishing relationships with other members of the media and front office personal, I feel that I learned almost everything I needed to know about reporting for a radio station."

Check out the full list of students' summer internships.

Read students' advice on landing an internship, and making the most of the experience.

Read Career Services Director Marcia Debnam's advice on planning your internship strategy.