By Aileen Lawrence
Graphic by Aileen Lawrence
Navigating internships and undergraduate work experience can be a daunting and confusing process, with a plethora of information and opportunities available to us here at CI. Luckily, two of our interns, Melissa Mendez-Conchas, 4th year English and Spanish major and Deborah “Debby” Mitchell-Moore, a 2nd year English major had a lot to say about working at The CI View. “I decided to intern with The CI View simply because I have never been [a part of] my school paper before, and this would be such an exciting thing to do in college!” gleamed Mitchell-Moore.
Both interns originally heard about this position through the English Department. The internship through The CI View is offered through different classes across campus and offers students a chance to earn up to 3 class credits while also building their resume. Mendez-Conchas further explained, “Just by having on your resume that you worked for the students’ news and were exposed to journalism is very attractive to look at and stands out from your resume.” Interns through the class commit to 8-10 hours a week brainstorming content ideas, editing articles while learning the intricacies of journalism. However, if you don’t want to go through the class, you can still intern with us for 3-5 hours per week.
Not only does the intern position here look great on a resume, but the perks of the job speak for itself! Melissa expressed “get first-hand experience of what it is to work with other people in an office environment, are directly exposed to journalism by having to conduct interviews and write articles and encourages you to explore the resources and events that CI has to offer.” Not only are there professional and academic perks, but there are also many social perks. “I really love observing things on campus and getting involved, so I felt like this was the right fit for me,” Mitchell-Moore said. “[The internship is] pretty nonchalant and relaxing! You have people there to help you, and then gather feedback for your work.”
The in-office environment is just as great as the three class credits! Though it was Mendez-Conchas’s first time working in an office environment, she marveled at how nice it was, saying that “The people who work in the office are awesome, I love it. Everyone knows everybody’s name, says hi to you and makes you feel part of the conversation when there is one taking place.” On top of all that, “You get to work at whatever time feels comfortable. Your schedule is very flexible!” Mitchell-Moore pointed out.
The main bright side of the job, as Mendez-Conchas says, is, “being a voice for individuals and things that matter but that people aren’t that aware of because no one has presented to them the information on events, resources and matters that they should know about.” We work to bring all events and activity happening on campus to students no matter how big or small they seem, and interning gives you and others a voice. The CI View is by the students for the students.
While interning at The CI View is an incredible opportunity, if you are unable to commit you can always join the crew as a contributor. Contributors can help The CI View in any way; though it is usually in the form of writing articles, they’d like with permission from the Editor-in-Chief. As a contributor, you can write for however long or short you’d like.
Overall Mendez-Conchas can say that “it has been my favorite part of the semester, it forces you to get out of your comfort zone in a good way, the people at the CI View often encourages you to keep doing your best and the experience in the journalistic field is just awesome. I feel like people know me more now that I work for the CI View and have allowed me to make more connections and communicate better.”
“[The CI View is] an absolutely amazing experience! I really adore it so much, and I’m actually so happy that I took it up for my fall semester of sophomore year!” smiled Mitchell-Moore
If you are interested in joining The CI View as an intern or Contributor, please reach out to us at: theciview@csuci.edu or email the current Editor-in-Chief directly at: miriam.packard373@csuci.edu. You can also sign up to intern at The CI View for academic credit with ENGL 492!
