English Department Communications Internship
Number of positions: 2
Internship term: Fall 2016 Semester, 15 weeks, August 22nd – December 9th, 2016
Total credits: 2
Hours: 80 hours (40 per credit hour), approximately 5 per week
Stipend: $500
Application Deadline: Monday, May 9th, 5 p.m.
What this semester’s interns had to say about it:
Intern Ashley Alfirevic’s advice to anyone considering this internship: “This job will be really easy and really hard, but not in the ways you would expect. It’s easy because you get to go to cool readings by amazing authors and then write about it, which is basically an English major’s dream. It’s hard because when you’re sharing experiences like that, you’ll really want to get it right. Plus the Department has so many wonderful events that you can’t possibly cover them all, even if you want to.”
Intern Kaitlyn Phillips says, “The communications internship with the English Department has been an opportunity to not only develop my writing and networking skills, but has also introduced me to events I have truly enjoyed and people that couldn’t be more fun to work with.”
The English Department is looking for two engaged, self-motivated, responsible, creative, and enthusiastic CSU students, undergraduate or graduate, with good communication and writing skills to help tell the story of the English Department. The interns in this position will help facilitate communication and community with students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the English Department.
Interns will spend most of their time researching, interviewing, attending events, writing, and developing content — both for print and online. A major responsibility of this internship will be creating content for the department’s blog, http://english.colostate.edu/blog/. Interns will work directly with the English department’s Communications Coordinator to meet departmental communication needs and complete various content development projects as assigned, including but not limited to creating profiles of people (alumni, faculty & staff, students), programs and projects; conducting interviews; providing event coverage (which would include attendance and photos, along with other modes of recording where relevant); and reporting departmental news and upcoming events.
For these internship positions, some prior reporting or blogging experience and/or education is preferred, as well as an understanding of principles for writing for the web and strong communication skills, both in person and in text. We also prefer applicants who are familiar with the English Department, its programs, people, and events – and who are willing to learn more. Content will be developed in various modes, and therefore skill with technologies such as sound recording and photography, as well as image and sound editing experience is preferred. We are also looking for interns with good people skills, the ability to participate in effective verbal and written exchanges, understanding that as they attend events and conduct interviews and such, they are acting as a “goodwill ambassador” for the department.
Applicants should email or hand deliver to the English Department main office the following: a cover letter, résumé, contact information for three references (phone and email), and three writing samples (plus multimedia samples, if applicable) by the application deadline to:
English Department
c/o Jill Salahub: Communications Coordinator
Jill.Salahub@colostate.edu
359 Willard O. Eddy Hall
1773 Campus Delivery
Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1773