by Nicole Onjukka Meharry '04

B
rian Weed '07 did not own a suit when he began his fresh-
man year at Union College in 2003. "I've always been sort of
a nerd," Weed says. "I could not even fathom working at a place
that required me to put on a suit every day. " So when he began
thinking about applying for an internship, he was fairly certain
Nebraska's Sandhills Publishing was not for him. He had vi ited
SandhiUs whil e taking Magazine Writing class and his first impres-
sion was that it was a vely
INTERNSHIPS
Weed feels one of me main reasons he was hired directl y out
of coll ege for tlle webmaster positi on was me impressive portfo-
lio he was abl e to show from his experience at Sandhi lis Publi sh-
ing. During his day-to-day tasks at Sandhills, he always saw tlle
bi gger pi cture-me impact his copy editing and writing intern-
ship was making on his future. However, Michelle Velazquez
Mesnard, associate professor of communication and Weed's aca-
demi c advisor at Uni on, made very cl ear me importance of creat-
ing a professional portfolio, so he dutifull y saved print and digital
copi es of his final arti cles with graphics and magazine layout.
"Employers today expect to ee high-quality portfolio pieces, and
published samples speak volumes." Weed explains, "When my
internship at Sandhill s ended, I
stuffy place where he would
not want to work. But after
learning a little more about the
diverse company and tllat mey
offered a paid internship
which would also count for
academi c credit, Weed per-
formed brilliantly during me
I couldn't even fathom
working at a place that
required me to wear a suit.
was able to showcase my writ-
ing, which aided in securing my
next internship witll me Lin-
coin Journal Star, and subse-
quently my position wi m Loma
Linda. In addition to me tangi-
bl e published writing sampl s, I
five-step interview process and felt honored to be selected as a
Sandhi li s Publishing editorial intern for their Smart Computing
family of consumer electronic magazines.
Sandhills Publishing operates within a fairl y unique environ-
ment. The company lacks private offices or even di viders. Weed
had to learn me art of a softl y
spoken telephone conference.
Male employees are required to
wear a suit and tie; females,
dresses wim hosiely. Weed had
to buy some suits. Almough not
his ideal working environment,
he said, "Even though tllere
were drawbacks, I really en-
joyed copy editing and crafting
articles for Smart Computing. I
learned so much about me im-
portance of analytical editing
and proofreading, and gained
invaluable experience during
my internship wim SandhiJls."
walked away from tllat experi-
ence with a better understanding of tll e magaZine publishing
process and the importance of accurate writing and detailed edit-
ing."
Internships provide students with me OPPOltuni ty to experi-
ence a career and put their cl assroom learning to practi cal use
whil e they are still able to dialogue
wim teachers and receive helpful ,
timely feedback. Good internships
provide opportunities for growd1,
substantial evidence of learned ob-
__ ...... __ jectives and me foundation for a
successful career. Weed believes
he was blessed witll a very go d
internship.
Since graduating from
Union in 2007, Weed has
worked as webmaster for the
Loma Linda University School
of Public Healm. He enjoys the
diversity of communication
tasks required in this position,
including writing on- and off-
line content, managing social
medi a profiles, taking photos at
school activities, creating and
Brian internship at Sandhilis Publishing in Lincoln taught
him valuable prof essional skilis that proved us'?ful in his career.
"When I was hired at Lorna
Linda University, my men boss
wanted someone who understood
technology and could write effec-
tively. Often webmasters have a
background in computer science
or English. He felt my internship
experiences and education in com-
munication was a perfect bridge
between the two." Weed still owns
th suits he purchased for his in-
ternship with Sandhills Publi shing,
but says he feels grateful to hav
found a place to work mat doesn't
require him to wear them. "I may
not wear a suit to work evely day
now, but I do maintain a level of
consistency and attention to detail
editing videos and a. dvising administration on technology issues
and purchases.
I
in my work that I first learned and culti vated as an intern wim
Sandhill s. " 1\
CORDmClgClz ine 17