This summer I got the chance to intern at HGTV Magazine. Their office is located in New York City so I had to commute in from New Jersey every day. Surprisingly I actually enjoyed the commute because it gave me a glimpse of what my life might look like after graduation.
My internship was a really rewarding experience. It was great learning about how a magazine functions, and being a part of that process first-hand was amazing. Some of my responsibilities included creating presentation boards, organizing samples, reaching out to companies to obtain products, and finding products for stories. All of the stories I helped with centered around items that the reader could buy. Basically, I was a personal shopper and I ended up spending a lot of time on Pinterest!
One of my favorite things that I got to do this summer was attend a photo shoot. The photo shoot was for the food stories in the magazine. I had to pack props to send to the shoot and deliver some last minute additions. Being able to see how the process worked was really interesting. I got to meet the photographer, the food stylist, and prop stylist and see how intricate each job is. I also really enjoyed running errands for my department. It mainly meant going to stores to pick up items we needed to shoot or show the editors. Some of the random things I picked up were pie tins and placemats.
This summer was an enriching experience where I got to learn about the magazine industry. It’s really cool seeing the October issue on stands knowing that work I did helped make the magazine. So go check out the magazine and you might see a familiar name on the credit sheet!