Senior Kristie Martins poses with “Shattered” magazine.

Senior Kristie Martins received an opportunity that most seniors at Bob Jones do not: real world experience working for a company. In June 2013, Kristie started an internship editing and writing for “Shattered,” a magazine printing out of Huntsville, Ala.

Kristie discovered the internship at her church, The Rock Family Worship Center, where “Shattered” magazine had a booth set up with a sign advertising their first print issue. Intrigued, she contacted  the editor-in-chief and got the position as her assistant. There was no office, so Kristie communicated with her supervisor over email, and meeting and interviews with the editor-in-chief were done at a local Panera Bread Co.

The typical day as an intern consisted of editing one to three articles. Then eventually, after editing for a while, Kristie began to co-write some of the articles that were to go into the magazine. She even had the chance to write an article about bullying that was published in the August 2013 issue.

When Kristie was asked what one thing she experienced from the internship she could pass on to her fellow student body, she had this to say: “The lesson would be for interviewing and writing that interview into something creative. I learned to be conversational and open with interviewees and catch a glimpse of their personality so I could put it into words… Being able to whip up a story the right way to make it unique, interesting, but fulfilling at the end is something I’m constantly working on.”

Although Obama said in a Kindle Singles interview in July that “journalists are having to scramble to piece together a living,” CNN reports, “About 66% of 2012 journalism graduates landed a full-time job roughly six to eight months after graduation, up from 62% in 2011.” Showing Journalism as a career choice is actually on the rise.

Bob Jones students interested in journalism as a career choice should not let their age deter them from researching internships. “Local places won’t turn away free writers,” Media publications teacher Mrs. Panagos said. For students interested, they should visit an internship search engine, such as the one at Internships.com.