By: Ariana Gonzalez '25
The Journalism Department hosted its third annual Journalism and Public Relations Internship Fair this past Monday evening. The internship fair allowed students and employers to meet in a social setting, providing excellent networking opportunities for students looking for careers in journalism and public relations.
In attendance were The Greenfield Recorder, UMass Magazine, Western Mass News, the 983 Group, SBS Pathways, Commonwealth Honors College, the Harvard Press and much more, showing students a snapshot of the wide variety of job opportunities they can pursue.
“There’s so much that happens in this area,” Scout Opatut, assistant editor for the Greenfield Recorder and Daily Hampshire Gazette, said to a student.
Tables were spread across the Communications Hub in the Integrative Learning Center where students could go up to recruiters in a casual manner and ask them questions about the field and any available opportunities they had. Underclassmen, upperclassmen and transfer students alike came to the fair seeking different opportunities from on-campus to off-campus media.
“I think that journalism, especially in the times that we are now, is super important,” transfer student Valentina Ayala Bustamente said about the importance of the fair. “Seeing how other people are looking for someone just like me to work for them, I think it's a great opportunity.”
The internship fair is a one of a kind opportunity for local outlets to seek students to apply for their internships. The Greenfield Recorder came to the event seeking interns to write for their features section, and UMass Magazine came seeking for student writers to produce content in a magazine format.
“I think it's great to put a lot of different opportunities in the same room and make them [the students] feel like there’s an abundance of opportunities rather than a scarcity,” Lori Shine, UMass Magazine managing editor, said. "There are people waiting for their skills and their perspectives."