It has always been a dream of mine to work with NBC and Telemundo 52, and this year, I was able to make that dream a reality for a couple of months. I remember my phone ringing during class, stepping outside to answer it and being surprised by the recruiters telling me that I had been chosen!
Here’s how it all started for me. To begin with, I wasn’t aware that these internships existed, which is bad (hopefully you are all made aware early that internships exist). I actually reached out to a news anchor from Telemundo 52 back in 2020, and he replied with two important pieces of advice on how I could get into the media industry. He first said that what mattered the most was experience, which could be gained with work, internships or school. Secondly, he told me that anyone could do it as long as they set their mind to the task. He suggested I apply to internships including the ones with NBCUniversal whenever they opened back up (they were not offering any at the beginning of the pandemic).
So, I waited and waited, and when the applications finally opened I applied to anything that seemed close to what I wanted to do. Keep in mind that when I applied my resume and cover letter weren’t exactly the best. Application after application, I was rejected because I did not have the qualities or experience they were looking for. Initially, this trend made me sad because how can someone get experience if no one is willing to give them a chance? It truly sucked especially because I was getting closer to my fourth year and was not landing anything.
Luckily, I had Her Campus at UCLA which was and is an amazing organization that gave me the opportunity to work on my writing skills. I have been with this publication for almost two years and could not be happier for having joined such a welcoming organization. I also had the Daily Bruin and my job at that time that helped me gain skills.
I used to work at Universal Studios Hollywood already but at the theme park. During my time there I gained lots of experience and skills in leadership. I have always made sure to get a job or extracurricular that will help me develop even further and put me out of my comfort zone. I used to be terrible at speaking in large crowds. I am not going to say I am over it, but I am way better at public speaking than when I was fresh out of high school. So, if there is any advice I can offer, it is to make sure to put yourself out there and don’t worry about the mistakes you will make along the way. We are all human and learning as we go!
I finally decided to give it one more try and applied for NBC’s Spring 2023 internship and was accepted! I was accepted into NBC and Telemundo 52’s Digital Team where I had the chance to write for both websites in English and Spanish. I got to pitch, interview and write as many stories as I could. It was a different experience and one that I enjoyed!
I had the chance to work with award winning journalists and even met my role model, which was another dream come true! The nice thing about this internship was that even though I was with the digital team, I could talk with the other departments and sometimes shadow them. I got to talk to many people and hear their stories and advice which I will cherish and put to use as I make my way in this career.
Although I enjoy writing stories and publishing them, my goal is to become a broadcast news reporter where I will be able to be at the scene of any news event and report on it for our communities. I enjoy informing people of what’s going on in our communities, as well as interacting with people from different cities. It’s always nice to hear people’s stories and other voices. To me, it’s important to make sure everyone is being heard and given the correct news information so everyone can stay informed.
So, please take away this message from my internship journey: Don’t worry about not having all the qualities or experiences on a job listing, just apply and keep on working on your skills in any way you can. Your current job may not have anything to do with your future goal, but you are still building skills that could be transferable. You just need to figure out what it is and how it can be helpful to whatever you are applying to. Also, apply to as many internships/jobs as you can because then you’ll be able to choose from many of them and have an opportunity with at least one of them. Lastly, be yourself and enjoy yourself. Don’t worry or stress about internships; you will get something when you least expect it.
The moral of the story is to keep trying even if you get rejected. You might not have the necessary skills at the moment, but you will reach your goal as long as you set your mind to it!