Many Tufts students return home for the summer to spend time with old friends and work summer jobs. Relaxing on the beach, catching summer flicks and maybe reading a good book are all typical, low-key summer activities. Some students, however, have traded these leisure activities for work, obtaining media-related summer internships.
Most students acknowledge the importance of internships in their respective fields, and in today's economy, internships have become almost crucial for anyone seeking a job after college. Tufts Communications and Media Studies (CMS) Associate Director Susan Eisenhauer emphasized internships as one of the most important aspects when applying for a job in a media-related field.
"I'd say internships are probably critical to getting a job in this economy and even before this economy," Eisenhauer said. "For people who work in media industries, the best preparation aside from having a solid liberal arts background is to have practical experience that ties to the real world."
Eisenhauer said that she hadn't seen a huge increase in students seeking media-related internships simply because there has always been a huge interest in them. To accommodate this high level of interest, the CMS program offers either half or full credit to any student who wishes to work an unpaid internship.
"Last summer, we had 50 students enrolled for academic credit for media internships," Eisenhauer said. "Enrollments are continuing [for this summer] and will continue through June."
Some Tufts students are already thinking about future job searches and have sought out summer-long internships. Freshman Zach Drucker got an incredibly early start and used his broad interests in media to find an internship in the television department at a production company, the City Lights Media Group.
"I've been trying to see what sparks my interest," Drucker said. "I really just wanted to see what the industry was really like and get a behind-the-scenes look at it."
After trying to get an internship with "The Daily Show," Drucker interviewed with many media companies before deciding on City Lights Media. He selected his internship based on the amount of experience he would gain instead of on the prestige of the company itself.
"I ended up at City Lights because I would be able to do stuff on set, behind-the-scenes stuff," Drucker said. "The company takes a lot of creativity, even from interns. I would definitely be doing menial tasks, but they said I might also have the opportunity to help with storyboards and with ideas for new shows."
Sophomore Rebecca Goldberg found her internship through a media class here at Tufts. When a teacher mentioned that an intern was needed for the Nickelodeon television show "Dora the Explorer," Goldberg applied. She ended up with an internship at Nickelodeon Preschool Brand Creative, a media group that specializes in kids' media.
"I want to work in television, but it's so hard to get your foot in the door going to Tufts because it's not a pre-professional or communications school," Goldberg said. "The only thing I want to do is work in TV, so I wanted to get started on internships early."
Goldberg explained that her search for an internship was not too stressful, despite the fact that she does not have that much experience in television. She was highly optimistic about opportunities for others to find the internships they wanted.
"There are plenty of media internships out there. If anybody looks hard enough, there is something available," Goldberg said. "We're Tufts students, so even though we're not getting practical education about our fields of choice, it's definitely a plus."
Sophomore Ben Anshutz used his passion for music to obtain an internship at Rolling Stone. His sister's connections in public relations helped him get the initial interview, but he then impressed the staff at the magazine with his knowledge of and love for the music industry.
"My first idea for a career is to be a musician," Anshutz said. "You can't count on making a living playing music, though. Writing about music would be the next best thing."
Though some of the duties that Anshutz described might not sound like fun -- getting lunch orders, running errands -- he is excited about the possibility of transcribing interviews with famous musicians, sitting in on production meetings, helping find ideas for articles and possibly getting the opportunity to write for the magazine's blog.
Like many other students, Anshutz was inspired to get an internship by his lack of interest in his typical summer job at home.
"I've had the same summer job for four years at a laid-back art festival back home in Newport Beach," Anshutz said. "It was a very chill job, but not fulfilling. I'm capable of doing much more than that, and I wanted to get an internship. Getting one at Rolling Stone was much more than I expected out of a summer internship."
Eisenhauer stressed the utility the CMS program can have for students searching for internships.
"We have about 600 internship sites that are listed in binders in our office. They cover many cities in the U.S., and they are really a fantastic resource," Eisenhauer said. "We also connect students to alumni offering internships or who we've developed relationships with. We sometimes connect specific students to their area of interest."
Eisenhauer also mentioned the lesser-known "winternship" program, in which students intern for a week at media-related companies in Boston, New York or Washington, D.C.
"Thirty students did one-week internships in major cities with alumni in media," she said. "Many are probably going back for the summer."
Eisenhauer reiterated the importance of obtaining internship experience, even if it is not a student's first choice. Gaining experience and making connections with people in the business are reasons enough to seek out a summer internship.
"Internships let you pick up specific skills but also make valuable professional connections," Eisenhauer said. "You learn what it's like to be in a workplace. You are also increasingly picking up specific media skills, something that is incredibly important for future employment."