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Mentorship May 10, 2017
My internship at Entity was a new and exciting delve into the depths of digital journalism. Entity is unlike any other publication I’ve worked for, or even seen. I fell in love fast with the mission statement and the vast array of topics I could delve into. I’ve been working since I was 14, and I’ve never worked somewhere before with this dedication to mentorship. That’s what really drew me in, I loved that working for entity meant more than adding a boost to my resume and launching my career, as a journalist but it meant making myself a better more well-rounded person. At Entity we were encouraged to bond with one another and lift each other up. That being said working at a start-up and a digital publication presented its own set of circumstantial and personal challenges. The interns often joke that we are the companies “first children.” This means that while we received a lot of love and attention we watched the company form and learn how to best operate, like a first time parent. We were test children. Everything at the company is new and the internship was very experimental, as it is with all startups.
Digital Journalism, I also learned, is unlike anything most journalism students are trained for. Going to a small school, I was trained to write for a weekly publication. During my last internship I worked for a weekly magazine, and while I’d covered breaking news plenty of times I found it difficult to write quality in depth articles at such a fast pace for Entity. Almost all digital journalists in publications are expected to produce at least three articles a day it seems. And even that was a lot for me, especially when I was writing about topics I knew very little about. Still I’m glad I wrote about the topics I did (being able to become an expert on a variety of topics is the best part of being a journalist) and that I was pushed to produce content as quickly as I could. I think these skills will not only prepare me for the changing digital landscape, but will also assist in my ability to cover breaking news in a readable manner.
When I go into the workforce full time I feel confident, now, that I’ll be able to produce news in a timely manner. I also feel like Entity has given me a lot of confidence in my own intellect and has taught me how to embrace my own worth and skills. Being a woman, a successful and powerful woman is difficult, but by watching our co-founders Jennifer and Gabrielle embrace their own awesomeness and be successful leaders I felt like it was more possible for me to become successful someday.
