Section 1-Review of your Internship Goals & Objectives

Rachel Doig

Before I started my internship at Double R Productions here in Washington D.C., I

had a lot of high hopes and objectives that I wanted to complete in my short time.
As I was moving to a new city and changing everything about my living and working
situation, I thought about the things that I would achieve while I was interning.
My objectives for this internship included the following:

Examine the work atmosphere and department

o I believe that I have examined my work atmosphere in depth. Each
week, Monday through Thursday, I am able to take into account my
work environment and office space in which I work in. Some days, my
fellow interns and I will attend shoots with other members from Double
R. This allows us to expand our horizons, meet other communications
individuals, and get hands-on experience in a professional
environment. I think that Ive achieved this goal to the maximum
degree.
Understand the roles and responsibilities for each professional within the
department
o Through attending shoots and working one-on-one with each member
of the office, Ive learned a lot. Whether an individual has taught me
how to edit with AVID software, properly light a room, or prepare for a
production shoot, Ive learned something from each member of the
office at some point throughout the summer. I know who is responsible
for what tasks, though the entire office comes together as a team for
some parts of projects. We all work together on marketing and PR for
the company, and we are all often a part of brainstorming ideas for
different clients. Being the president, Rosemary is always the one who
makes the final decisions. Though the rest of us have a lot of say in
projects, she has the final word. Always. Catherine is the Director of
Development/Producer. Michael, Paul, and Jose are mainly editors.
Lauren is the production coordinator. Flannery works mainly with
marketing and social media, as well as assists with similar things that
Lauren works on. Joyce, Chloe, and I are the intern team. Though we
are at the bottom of the totem pole here, we are still treated with more
respect than a lot of other interns.
Understand the role of the department within the overall functionality of the
organization
o This particular bullet point doesnt necessarily apply to my internship
site, as we are a very small company. There are 7 full-time staff
members and 3 interns. I wasnt aware of how small we really were
until I began working here. If anything, I would be considered part of
the intern department. I say this because we have particular intern

roles and tasks that we are responsible for, along with assisting on
bigger office projects. Some of the projects that the interns are
required to work on are blogs to promote Double R, VLOGs, the Pro
Bono piece, elevator speech videos, posting on social media, etc. Quite
often, various opportunities pop up throughout the week that we arent
prepared for. About halfway through the summer, we ran outside to
film an impromptu protest in Dupont Circle. We then took this footage,
researched the subject, and turned it into a news video. The interns are
responsible for collecting recycling every week, and sometimes
running errands to the bank or the store. We answer the office phone
when its ringing, along with other office-like tasks. As a whole, our
intern department has gotten along extremely well throughout the
summer, which makes it much easier to work on projects. We mix well
together, and all of our projects have been a collective of our minds.
Understand how the various departments within the organization effectively
work together to achieve organizational-wide goals and objectives
o To be able to understand how each department flows well together in
a communications company, you must understand how videos are
made from start to finish. We all assist with brainstorming certain
ideas, or methods used to be able to make an idea come to life. After
all of the pre-production and planning are done, some of the team will
go on the video shoot. Here, the interns are the production assistantsWe are responsible for makeup, release forms, call sheets, and making
sure that everything and everyone is attended to. While the shoot is
going on, Rosemary, Catherine, and/or whoever else is on the shoot
will conduct business. Quite often we hire freelance videographers to
film for our clients. They only add to the group of people that it takes
to complete a video. After the shoot is complete, we sometimes take
the footage back to the office where our editors get to work. This part
of the process, post-production, takes a long time. The editing portion
of video production is where the ideas really come to life. Each
individual person and component is crucial to the production of our
projects.
Meet one-on-one with at least three professionals at the organization to seek
professional development and career advice
o I have spoken to almost everyone in the office about professional
development and career advice. I know where most of them went to
school, how they chose their career, and how they ended up at Double
R. The three people that I speak to the most about professional
development are Rosemary, Catherine, and Lauren. Rosemary knows
so much information about communications as a whole, and she is a
great mentor. I often find myself wishing that I had known her since I
decided to become a communications major, as she has given me so
much relevant career advice in my short 3 months here. Catherine has
taught me a lot about professional development and how to hold
yourself as a professional. My fellow interns and I attended various

networking and speaking events with her, such as Toastmasters.

Toastmasters is an organization in which a group of people come
together and work on their public speaking and speech skills. This
experience was not only beneficial, but really eye-opening as well.
Lauren is also a great mentor not only for myself, but for my current
intern friends and future interns at Double R. She is quite close to our
age, making it often easier to relate to her. Lauren is not only one of
the most helpful people Ive met at my office, but also happy and
brilliant. She knows what she is doing, and is always willing to help me
if Im ever having any problems. Lauren has taught me different things
around the office such as setting up the teleprompter and proper office
procedures. In addition, Lauren and I have often spoke about career
paths that Im interested in and how I would get to that point. We talk
about common interests and hobbies while we work, and this makes it
quite easy to forget that were working! I am grateful for any and all
advice I have gotten from these three wonderful ladies.
Seek constructive criticism from my internship site supervisor and other staff
within the organization
o Seeking constructive criticism from Rosemary is not something that I
often need to ask for. She knows what needs to be done when it comes
to production, and shes not afraid to tell anyone that. Though she is
often very hard on the work that we do, I know she means well.
Rosemary only wants the three of us to become better communications
professionals and she knows some great ways to get us there. The
other employees of the office are consistently willing to help and teach
us new things. They may not be as hard on us as Rosemary, but they
still help me learn many new things. We always receive feedback on
our work and regardless of whether the feedback is negative or
positive, I am consistently learning and bettering myself for future
projects.
Produce media for a professional organization
o Producing media for a professional organization is something that Im
doing every single day when I walk into Double R. As I mentioned
before, Im consistently creating media, whether it be intern projects
or legitimate projects for clients. Ive created everything from blog
posts, to videos, to research documents with questions for a diplomat!
Network with professionals both within and without the field of
communications
o Ive networked in every sense of the word. If The Washington Center
hadnt made me network in DC, Double R definitely would have. While
attending various panel discussions at the Washington Center, Ive met
some really interesting people in the field of communications. Ive
been able to give my business card to some of these individuals, and
have been in contact! Double R gives me opportunities to network
every time Im out on a shoot. Ive networked with clients ranging from
the National Credit Union Administration, Israel Channel 2 News,

workers at CNN, members of the American Foundation for Suicide

Prevention, and many more. Some, but not all of these people are in
the field of communications. I really enjoy networking with people
outside of communications as well, because there is often more to
discuss when they find out that I work in that field. This is truly an
exciting internship that I wouldnt trade for any other.
Broadcasting
o I have not done as much broadcasting work as I anticipated, but that is
ok! Rosemary started out in radio, so I have gained some valuable
information from her. Ive learned different aspects of broadcasting
through a woman that works at the Newseum, along with the
Newseum itself. Ive made a few contacts through there, and wouldnt
mind going back as often as possible.
Media production
o Media production is what I tend to work on every day in Double R, and
as I mentioned before I am extremely content with what Ive learned.
Whether it be writing or actually producing, Ive learned a bit of
everything. All of the diverse people that are employed by Double R
truly have so much knowledge and information to offer. As an intern, I
am blessed by this every day. I try to learn from those around me as
often as I can.
Film production
o Film production is another area in which I did not receive as much
assistance as I would have liked. Lauren, one of the other employees in
the office, talks to me often about film production. She would like to
end up working in film production one day and often tells me tips about
it. I learned new editing software, and many new lighting techniques,
both of which are involved in film production. To me, a lot of the media
production and film production tend to overlap. This being said, my
internship wasnt focused quite as much on film. Nonetheless, Im
content with what I have learned about film.
Graphic design
o As far as graphic design goes, I havent learned a lot that is new. My
fellow interns and I were able to design a postcard for Double R that is
sent out to our mailing list in the fall. We looked at previous postcard
designs to get an idea of what we were supposed to be creating. We
sketched new ideas for the fall, and we collectively designed a new one
to be sent out in the fall. I didnt learn a lot of new skills, but I was able
to use previous skills that I learned at IUP to design the new postcards.
Events management
o This particular section is another that I didnt get a lot of experience in.
Rosemary taught us the 7 Ps of Production, which extends to Proper
Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Production. Though this doesnt relate
directly, it can definitely help me in the future if I intend to do more
work in events management or planning. At Double R, were
consistently prepped for shoots and always prepared for anything that

might come our way. If this isnt great planning advice, I dont know
what is.
Social media
o Social media is an area that I think Ill be involved with no matter what
I decide to do with my career. Since Im in the social media
generation, its inevitable that Ill be working with either blogs,
Facebook posts, or some sort of marketing work. I do know a lot about
writing and good ways to promote companies and organizations.
Flannery, another employee of Double R, has taught me different little
things about posting on social media. Ive learned about timing of
posts and how to expand the reach of our posts. The intern team at
Double R creates a blog each week to be posted on our website. This is
also used as a social media and marketing technique. Plus, blogging
allows me to sharpen my writing skills!

The education that Ive received at IUP has been a great one. Nothing that
Ive done in my life thus far could have entirely prepared me for my internship with
Double R Productions, but IUP has given me some great skills. Ive used some of my
technical skills such as operating a camera and editing to assist me with my
internship. Aesthetics and creativity are a few other things that Ive worked on at
IUP and have been a great help to me when working in DC.
All of my communications classes that Ive taken at IUP have assisted me in
some way at my internship with Double R Productions. A few that have helped
prepare me the most include COMM 240 (Communications Graphics), COMM 271
(Beginning Photography), COMM 395 (Career Planning), COMM 403 (Broadcast
Newswriting), and COMM 351 (Advanced Video Production). All of these courses
have taught me various things about media and ways to work with media that Ive
been able to apply to different projects over the course of the summer. Career
Planning was a great preparation class for the real world. Because this course
taught me things about resumes, interviews, cover letters, and other professional
development, I was much more prepared for people that I encountered in DC. When
comparing my knowledge to that of other students at The Washington Center, I was
better prepared and more developed in professional skills. In addition to my
communications courses, Ive taken classes in the English department that have
also prepared me for my writing opportunities along with advocacy events that Ive
attended.
For me, it is hard to pick particular things to be deemed most important in
my internship experience. Double R, along with The Washington Center, have given
me lifelong skills and opportunities that I never would have imagined when first
arriving in Washington D.C. The Washington Center experience has impacted me as
a student and a young professional. Ive learned much about myself and my
workplace through the LEAD Colloquium sessions. Involvement in civic engagement
let me extend my network and branch out to other people that I wouldnt have
before coming to TWC. My night class allowed me to extend my knowledge of
journalism ethics and how it plays into my future career. One of the best
opportunities that I was presented with was the opportunity to attend a taping of

Meet the Press. Here, I sat in-studio and watched as the crew filmed the taping with
Chuck Todd and his guests. After the taping, I was able to meet with Chuck Todd and
ask him questions. For me, this opportunity was one-of-a-kind. Not only was I able to
meet with someone intelligent and successful, I was able to see behind-the-scenes
of the longest running TV show in history. Plus, the news junkie in me was
enthralled with the discussion going on in front of the cameras. This opportunity,
along with many others, was a truly eye-opening experience and allowed me to feel
confident in the field that I have chosen for my career.