Professionals to offer advice for media internships

While some English majors might feel they need to rub a crystal ball to determine their career futures, a polished resumé could do the trick. Tonight, students can rub shoulders with specialists in creative careers.

The Writing Internship Office will sponsor an event called “Media Internships: Charting Your Career Path” at 7:30 p.m. in the William Pitt Union Ballroom. In its ninth year, the event is designed to help students obtain internships and learn about future opportunities from a panel of media professionals. 

The seven-person panel contains two Pitt alumni: Mark Tavani, vice president and editorial director of Ballantine Bantam Dell, and Meredith Matthews, director of public relations at Chemistry Communications.

The alumni will sit among other professionals, including Mark Anderson from CBS Radio, Ken Rice from KDKA-TV, Paula Bouknight from The Boston Globe, Cindi Lash from Pittsburgh Magazine and Steve Pearson from Smith Brothers Agency.

Students are encouraged to converse and share resumés with the panelists, according to Barbara Klein, the writing internship coordinator in Pitt’s English department. After the event, the panelists will stay to answer questions and refreshments will be served.

“This event allows students to rub shoulders and hear from locally and nationally known names in the business,” Klein said in an email. 

Cindy Skrzycki, a lecturer in Pitt’s English writing department, created the event nine years ago to help students learn about different job opportunities. The goal of the event, according to Skrzycki, is to “put together a panel that covers all the bases in the media world.”

“The event has grown to be the best bet for English majors to start finding an internship,” Skrzycki said in an email. 

Students will have the opportunity to learn from a diverse group of professionals about their careers. That information, according to Skrzycki, is critical to students’ professional growth. 

“For many students, the advice given by panelists on how to find and do your best at a broadcast- or writing-based internship is information tailored specifically for them,” Skryzcki said.  

One of the panelists, Pearson, studied communications with a concentration in public relations at the California University of Pennsylvania, located in California, Pa. He now works as the public relations and social media coordinator at Smith Brothers Agency, located in Pittsburgh. Pearson said that an internship landed him at his previous job.

“There was a woman that wasn’t working with the company [anymore], and after I graduated, I was able to take her place,” Pearson said.

At a time when internships are critical to job opportunities, students are encouraged to attend the event. 

“Internships are a very important part of the career,” Pearson said. “The agency world doesn’t offer entry-level positions. They require at least one year of experience … most, three to five years of experience.” 

Before the panel, Tavani will also host a session called “Book Publishing: The Business Behind the Art” at 4:30 p.m. in room 501 of the Cathedral of Learning. Tavani, who works in publishing at a division of book publisher Random House, will discuss the process of getting work published from its initial stages. 

“They are living proof that an English degree from the University of Pittsburgh has great value,” Skrzycki said. “I hope to see every English major on Thursday night.”