My Summer Internship, Isabella (2022)
ÌÀÍ·ÌõÔ´´ has an innovative Careers and Mentoring Programme, Isabella, one of several internship bursary recipients, tells us her internship story:
Can you tell us about your internship at the The Times?
I was awarded the Ting-Hway Wong fund to support my internship at The Times in London over the summer. This was an invaluable opportunity, in which I went behind the scenes of The Times, The Sunday Times and Times Radio, hearing from senior journalists and editorial executives on how they push discussion and platform different conversations and perspectives. The opportunity to see behind the scenes of how the paper is made as well as hearing from incredible journalists who work across different areas of journalism was truly inspiring. I was even able to ask the Editor of The Times, Tony Gallagher, a few questions during the morning news briefings, which was definitely one of the highlights. As part of the experience, I took part in a ‘boot-camp’-like journalism course, organised by News Associates, the UK’s leading journalism school. The programme took a multimedia approach to match the modern journalism landscape, covering writing (particularly news and feature articles), broadcasting, social media, and photography.
What skills did you take away from this experience and what are your plans for the future?
I spent my first year at Cambridge writing for the independent student newspaper, Varsity. This year, my ambition is to take on an editorial role, and I have come away with the skills I need to achieve this. Second, I gained tangible insight into different career pathways in journalism, including a greater understanding of postgrad qualifications and training schemes. I categorically believe that national journalism must reflect the population it serves, however, living in Newcastle Upon Tyne means I am far removed from all of the HQs of the country’s major news outlets. The Ting-Hway Wong fund meant I could afford to travel down to London and see first-hand the reporting that resources of a far greater scale afford, and I am incredibly grateful.
With the generous support of the Ting-Hway Wong Internship Fund, the College is delighted to be able to offer financial support to current students to undertake internships during their studies. The views and opinions expressed in this article belong to Isabella (2022).
