Sarah Menendez, now a production assistant at Marketplace, shares her experiences as a digital intern in the summer of 2016:

When I graduated from UC Irvine in 2015, I left with two degrees and a strong sense that I wanted to work in public media. After studying journalism and political science for four years and spending a large portion of my time working at the college paper, I cultivated an understanding that our work as journalists should seek to educate our audiences in a way that is accessible and engaging. That’s why I gravitated to Marketplace. Before I even started working here, I was a fan. I loved the way complicated and important concepts were explained in a way that felt friendly and accessible to me. It made me feel smart.

So, needless to say, I was very excited when I got the job as a Digital Intern for Marketplace.

Working on the digital team enabled me to look at radio in a new light and understand the importance of creating a space for our program to thrive in the digital world. Throughout my months as an intern, I felt like I was constantly developing my skill set and actively putting it to work every day.

I learned a LOT. I learned how to make a great radio feature shine on the web, I made graphics, produced videos and ventured into new social media and publish platforms for our content. During my internship, I worked on many projects including the Price of Profits series, our Puerto Rico coverage and helped shape our Medium page into a space for reporters to reflect on their work. I’m happy to have been a part of these projects — no matter how big or small of a role I played in them.

I’m forever grateful for the amazing digital team here that always empowered me to share my ideas encouraged me to seek out my interests — even if those interests take the form of a Janet Yellen fashion blog. Thank you, Nishat, Donna, Tony, Janet and Rounak. Although we are a small team, we are mighty and I’m so happy I get to continue working here as a Production Assistant for the next couple months!