REACH Internship Program
Mentorship & Teamwork
Our internship program gives real world experience with high levels of responsibility to local high school and
college students in the areas of editorial, public relations, and graphic design. The interns are responsible for
producing Alive Magazine. With content created mostly by young writers, the interns in turn act as
mentors/guides for the young writers and artists who submit their work to the magazine.
For instance, a teenage girl sends a story about an experience she's had that she doesn't really know how to
process - she sends a first draft and an editorial intern is assigned to work with her to develop the piece,
transforming it from a journal entry to a narrative essay, and helping her understand the process of polishing a
story for publication. Once it has received content approval and copy edits, the graphic design team begins
brainstorming ways to give aesthetic "setting" to her article, by pairing the work with artwork submissions
collected in an original image library of work by young artists.
The public relations team works to make sure that the magazine is available to every young woman nationwide,
to take that young woman's story reaches as many people's computer screens as possible, utilizing marketing
and community outreach to increase readership. Our public relations interns specialize in pairing like-minded
organizations with upcoming content, giving visibility to companies and products that support the real lives of
young women.
Goal Setting & Professional Training
At the start of their internship, each intern is responsible for setting personal and professional goals relevant to
her interest and career path. Beyond their departmental duties, these goals are used to customize the
individual's job descriptions to fit their personal interests and strengths. These go beyond the traditional school
forms or goal worksheets provided, but work as internal checkpoints to guide their work throughout the
program. We also encourage all staff to utilize 15% of their time developing innovative ideas related to long-term company goals. These often formulate into one "Big, Hairy Audacious Goal" (as commonly used in the
context of strategic planning meetings) to be worked toward throughout the duration of their internship. When
each intern identifies a BHAG, these goals are posted on a community wall in the office where the entire staff
works daily to encourage and assist one another in achieving their goals.
For example, Mandy Gebhardt, a graphic design intern, began her internship frustrated with the inefficiency of
a particular company design element that she needed to use on a daily basis. She found a solution by imagining
the set of icons as a font instead of an object to be manipulated. She took initiative during her 15% to research
font creation software, and prepare a proposal of how this would decrease inefficiencies in the design system.
We then approved her funding request and an allotment of time for her to achieve her goal. The resulting font
is now used on a regular basis, and directly contributed to the overall company productivity.
Along the way, the interns as a group undergo extensive pre-professional training in resume writing and interviewing; they benefit from networking opportunities, and most importantly, their daily contact with clients,
vendors, readers, contributors, and community partners. They see the direct result of their work when our
readership, advertisements, and submissions increase.
I'VE ALWAYS HAD A SPECIAL INTEREST AND PASSION FOR
WOMEN'S STUDIES AND WAS THRILLED TO BE ABLE TO
ALIGN MY PROFESSIONAL GOALS AS A DESIGNER WITH MY
PERSONAL BELIEFS. THE EXCITEMENT ABOUT ALIVE WAS
CONTAGIOUS—BEING AROUND YOUNG WOMEN WHO WERE
PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT THEY WERE DOING WAS SUCH A
HUGE MOTIVATOR FOR ME AND GAVE ME AN EXTRA BOOST
OF CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITIES. SINCE MY TIME WITH
ALIVE, I HAVE HAD TWO OTHER INTERNSHIPS AND LANDED A
GREAT FULL-TIME JOB, AND I CAN HONESTLY SAY MY
EXPERIENCE FROM ALIVE HAS HELPED MY PORTFOLIO IN
MORE WAYS THAN I COULD HAVE EVER IMAGINED.
-Kari Sivula
Graphic Design Intern
Spring 2006