Internship Profile: Communication

2005 - After interning in 2004 with news radio, Michael Warner decided to finish out his senior year with an internship with The Hutchinson News as a sports writer. “I gained confidence quickly writing sports features and also adjusted to talking sports with coaches and players in interviews. I sharpened my ability to take quick notes thanks to my experiences recording basketball games,” said Michael.

Michael felt that his internship experiences, writing for the college paper, “The Spectator” and the classes that he took in creative writing, journalism, graphic design, English and editing have given him the knowledge and experience to take him far in the future.

2004 - While completing a summer internship at EBC, Inc., in central Kansas, communication major Michael Warner was exposed to various elements of radio broadcasting – writing and announcing news, sales promotion, and public service issues. He quickly learned there was a difference between radio writing and newspaper writing.

His greatest challenge was overcoming “microphone fright” as he strived to relay news accurately during a live broadcast. He learned to think quickly and focus on the words he was saying. Michael also refined his communication skills as his job required conversations with people of different ages and personalities. Two of the most rewarding experiences for Michael were storm chasing with his news director and meeting the state governor.

Michael’s internship confirmed his career goal of being involved with some aspect of the media, whether it is print, radio or television. As he defines his post-graduate plans, Michael stresses that flexibility is the key. He intends to pursue a second internship during his senior year in the area of print media.

Internship Profile: Communication

Writing for “The Spectator”, the McPherson College campus newspaper, isn’t a lot different than writing for the “Wichita Times” a monthly Wichita tabloid. Kara Reiff spent most of the 2002-03 academic year working for McPherson College Alumna and Wichita Times publisher Cynthia Mines. Kara started at the Times by writing short news briefs and ended up writing front page features. Kara was surprised at how prepared she was for the challenge of writing for a widely published paper. She noted that “people really just want to tell you their story.”

The highlight of her internship was during an interview at the Wichita Botanic Garden. She was covering a new theraputic garden that was designed for the disabled. The Botanic staff member she was interviewing pushed her through the garden in a wheel chair to give her the full effect. This experience boosted her confidence and reassured her that she could write for a living.