More than just learning the ropes

For some people, an internship is just a bonus on the road to graduation -- but for TV people, it's a necessity.\nAs a broadcast journalism major, I'm launching myself into a cut-throat market based simply upon competition. Needless to say, I'll do whatever I can to convince my future news director that I'm better qualified than the other thousand struggling reporters who will send in their resume tapes.\nIt's hard to land a job in TV without the credentials (both literally, and figuratively). It's internship experience that sets apart the people who want to be on TV from the people who will truly succeed in broadcast news. I will belong to that second group.\nMy career plan consists of this: after a decent amount of experience at a West-coast affiliate, I want to anchor in Seattle. Once I've done my time in the major market, I'm going to take over for Katie Couric on NBC's "Today Show."\nAnd this past summer, I took my first step toward that goal.\nI was accepted as an intern on the spot during a May interview with WRTV, Channel 6, in Indianapolis. Not knowing what to expect, I walked into the busy newsroom on my first day extremely nervous, but anxious to immediately immerse myself in what I would make my future. \nI got to help the producers write the midday and evening news. I got to interview everyone from Gov. Joe Kernan and Jared Fogle, the Subway guy, to Morgan Freeman and my personal favorite, Jane Pauley. But my favorite thing -- even better than talking to all of the stars at the Indy 500 Ball -- was being able to build relationships with the people I worked with.\nI hung out with Ray Cortapassi and Martha Weaver during the shows they anchored, and I reported stories with Jack Reinhart and Raphael Sanchez. And although I learned more about these familiar Indy faces than most Hoosiers would care to know, I got to know each reporter and anchor on a personal basis.\nMore important than all of the inside jokes and stories I accumulated with on-air people during my internship was the advice and support I received from these people that I have grown to truly admire. \nBy the end of my summer internship, everyone knew my name. That might not seem like a big deal, but two, three or even 20 years down the road, these are the people I could call for advice -- or even help in getting future jobs.\nToward the end of the summer, I sat down with my 50 thank you cards, and I wrote a personal note in each card, thanking every producer, photographer, reporter, anchor and member of management for giving me the opportunity to work with them, as well as teaching me what it takes to be a good reporter. And after my signature, I wrote my e-mail address and told each person to stay in touch.\nI can't recall how many of those people e-mailed me, or made an effort to sincerely thank me for the card and offered to help me in any way they could in the future. It is the effort in things like thank you notes and e-mails that set apart the interns, from the interns who become future employees.\nBeyond the things I learned about having a career in broadcast, I took something else from my internship -- internships can be as valuable as you make them.\nI cannot put down in words how valuable my internship at RTV-6 has been. It's impossible to describe how thankful I am to have been given this opportunity. I was even asked to continue my internship through the fall and freelance for the station during this year's presidential election.\nAnd one day, while I'm sitting on the set of NBC's Today Show, I'll look back and remember how all the people I kept in contact with from RTV-6 were part of the reason that I am living my dream.