An internship with the SUNY Washington Internship Program was a goal of mine since my sophomore year. My professor recommended the program to me as I was flourishing in my Journalism major and was planning on studying Political Science. Since then, it has been something I was working towards as the first concrete step in my career outside of “normal” college life. I applied to the program as soon as I could and hit the ground running with applications. Professor Robert Powell and Internship Coordinator Casey Cappalletti were huge helps in this process for any questions or concerns I had about the process. They are two people that want the best for their students, and the program is in good hands. After months of applications, I was offered an internship in the Senate Democratic Media Center (SDMC) producing video content for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the rest of the Senate Democrats.
At the SDMC, there are plenty of opportunities for media interns to fill in and gain real-world experience. My job primarily was to serve on the team’s rapid response video editing team. That entailed monitoring an email chain for any incoming video edit requests, downloading the videos and editing them to a script. I also attended some press conferences and had the opportunity to see several Senators speak in person, including Senators Schumer (NY), Patty Murray (AZ), and Mazie Hirono (HI) among others. Senators will also come into the SDMC studio every day to record speeches or interviews. One of my favorite interviews I sat in was Senator Tammy Duckworth (IL) as she had a video interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper. Something I reflected on after my internship is how important this job is. Senators are relying on teams like the SDMC to communicate their views correctly for messaging to the public. I’ll never forget the feeling of passing a famous Senator in the hallway. It somehow never got old.
Prior to my internship in D.C. I was in a bit of a lull in terms of deciding what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go with my career. I studied Journalism and I was interested in Political Science, but I was struggling to find opportunities or even motivation to combine those fields. I’ll be the first to admit that the idea of injecting my own political beliefs into my published work was intimidating. But, through my time at the SDMC I realized my love for combining my two fields of professional interest. Having the ability to be passionate about my work has given me a whole new perspective on my career. I have a taste of what the professional political media field looks like and I now know it is what I want in life.
For students of video journalism, the SDMC internship is an opportunity you should have circled five times as your priority. It was not only a once in a lifetime opportunity, but the team there is genuinely so kind and I never felt like I was swamped in work as an intern. You also can say that your work is published on the internet for millions of people to interact with and create positive social change.