Gabe Perna: Journalism student and intern from New York
In the study of journalism, you can take all the classes and read all the books but nothing beats experience. Any journalism professor or professional I have ever met has always stressed the importance of gaining experience in the field.
I was blessed to have all sorts of experiences from August to November 2006 when interning and studying in Sydney, Australia, for my final year in journalism at the Marist College, New York, USA. My two internships/work experiences at The Centre for Volunteering and at The Sunday Telegraph newspaper, and studying at the Australian Catholic University, really gave me a fresh perspective and more knowledge and understanding of the field of journalism.
The Centre for Volunteering is the peak organisation that serves not-for-profit organisations and volunteers in New South Wales. For most of my three-month internship at The Centre for Volunteering in the communications department, I wrote articles about volunteerism, interviewed volunteers and researched volunteer organisations. I was not sure that I was going to like interning in The Centre because this type of organisation was not what I had requested as a final year journalism student travelling overseas. However, when I ended up interning at The Centre for Volunteering in Sydney I realised that my time there had worked out for the best.
Interning at The Centre gave me insight into a different field of communications that I had never considered before. For as long as I can remember, I only ever wanted to work for a magazine or newspaper publisher when I graduated and throughout my whole career. And while I don't think I'd pursue it further, it's been great to get that 'different and unknown' experience.
Moreover, for one week, my lifelong dream of interning at a magazine or newspaper publisher was actually realised when Kristin Romanis, the communications manager, arranged for me to intern at the Sunday Life magazine published in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper. At Sunday Life, I researched articles, transcribed interviews, worked on layout, and even wrote a short article (published on 12 November 2006). While it might not sound glamourous it was truly great journalism experience for me. I am glad I had the opportunity to work and see what life at a magazine were like even if only for a week ... I cannot thank Kristin enough for that opportunity.
I will undoubtedly take what I learnt at The Centre for Volunteering and Sunday Life back with me to the States. Also, I learnt a lot about Australian people and culture, travelled to Cairns in northern Australia and New Zealand and made plenty of friends. I discovered many colourful differences between American English and Australian English!