Keeping an Open Mind Makes for a Memorable Internship Experience

By Todd Desgrosseilliers, College of Business major

Todd Desgrosseilliers

Todd Desgrosseilliers

The end of freshman year is a stressful time for every student. Preparing for final exams and writing papers is the norm. For me, the end of freshman year also meant trying to figure out what I would be doing that summer. I knew I wanted to get my feet wet with some real work experience and gain some skills that would help me after graduation, but I was not quite sure how I would go about doing that. So, I spent that last few months of the semester trying to get out as many internship applications as I could, which was not an easy task since so many of the places I wanted to intern at only accepted students who were juniors or seniors. Fortunately, I was offered an opportunity to interview and was offered an internship with C-SPAN in Washington, DC.

As a business student, I assumed my internship would be with their marketing department, however to my surprise I was assigned to work as a production intern with C-SPAN’s American History TV. I did not know much about television production or any of the skills associated with getting a program from a raw, uncut file to a polished and presentable program, but the people in the department were extremely helpful. I learned so much from this experience. I was treated like an employee of the company, and the expectation was that I would perform my tasks just as well as the other people in my department. Whether it was creating identification graphics for the programs, writing scripts that would be used to introduce the different programs, or updating the American History TV website about certain programs that would be airing soon, all of the tasks I was assigned kept me busy every day.

During the course of my internship, I helped produce twenty-seven different programs that aired on American History TV. Turning on the TV and see the programs I helped produce was one of the coolest things I have ever done. Being a part of the C-SPAN team gave me a whole new respect for the amount of work that goes into the programming that people view each day. True to our liberal arts foundation, participating in a variety of educational opportunities enriches our broader experience, and although broadcasting is not necessarily what I plan on doing after graduation, my internship with C-SPAN helped me gain a better understanding of what to expect when I am finished here at Mary Washington. I cannot imagine having spent my summer in our nation’s capital any other way.

Speak Your Mind

*