UC student gains experience through hands-on internship

Reed was not required to complete an internship for her major. But an increasing number of A&S students are landing internships in part because of UC's Bearcat Promise, which strives to ensure all students graduate with both a degree and a career plan through internships and professional development instruction and services. While traditional internship opportunities require that students alternate semesters working and pursuing their academics, non-traditional internships such as Reed's with Short Vine are not as formally structured, and do not necessarily add time to undergraduate study. And although they are non-traditional, these internships offer many of the same benefits: professional experience, networking, resume-building, and discovering which career paths are fulfilling and which are not.  

During her semester-long internship, the English literary and cultural studies major spent the majority of the time reading through submissions to the journal, which includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, art and photography. She then published accepted submissions on their online publication. Besides these main duties, she also conducted many interviews, and published content to the journal’s blog.

“This internship allowed me to understand in depth the process and steps for putting together a completed digital journal in a way that wouldn't have been an option in the classroom,” says Reed. “We didn't have a set class time to discuss deadlines and responsibilities, so it was a great chance to learn how to communicate effectively with a large team over emails and phone calls, as well as learn how to manage my time and energy independently.”