Corinne Ruff
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Graduation Year: December 2015
Major: News/Editorial Journalism and French
Hometown: Sycamore, Illinois
Campus Activities:
- Illinois Public Media - CU-CitizenAccess intern
- The Daily Illini - News Editor, Managing Editor, Beat reporter
- French Club - President
Hobbies: traveling, horseback riding, music, playing with my dog
Internship: Consumer Health Intern - U.S. News & World Report
What were your duties?
-Pitched original story ideas, conducted research and interviewed experts in the consumer health field
-Wrote one consumer health article or slideshow per week
What did you most enjoy about your internship?
I loved the independence I had to write about a wide-range of topics - from why more women are running half marathons to how you can recharge your health on vacation. I never did "intern" busy work or got coffee for anyone. I was treated just like any of the other writers and because of that several of my articles were picked up by The Huffington Post, MSN and Yahoo.
What was the most difficult aspect of your internship?
My editor pushed me to get an edit from one of the most senior editors at U.S. News, who has a hard newspaper background. He tore my story apart, leaving beyond dripping red ink and questioning my journalism integrity. I had spent an extra week on this story, so it was hard to take his criticism. But I did, turned the story around and he later told me it was the best story I'd written for them.
How did your experience at Illinois and in the College of Media prepare you for your internship?
Many of my journalism classes helped me understand how to succeed at both writing and reporting - something my supervisor told me is rare to find in an intern. Particularly learning how to think with a "document state of mind" helped me shape objective consumer pieces. Additionally, working at the Daily Illini was critical to preparing me for how a real newsroom functions. While it may seem like day-to-day craze sometimes at a student newspaper, it's so important to learn how to work fast on deadline, be professional in the work place and teach others.
How has your internship prepared you for a career?
My opportunity to intern at a legacy newspaper in Washington D.C. had a significant role in taking me back to the nation's capital for a spring internship upon graduation at The Chronicle of Higher Education. My internship allowed me to connect with professional journalists from within U.S. News & World Report and at many other prestigious publications. The pressure of working in a professional, fast-paced environment helped bolster my journalistic skill and prepare me to enter the real world of journalism.
What recommendations do you have for other students about doing an internship?The biggest advice I can give to students starting their internship search is to start early and never turn away an application because you don't think you're good enough or because it doesn't pay. My internship offered no monetary compensation but paid completely in opportunity and professional connections (which got me another internship in D.C.). Make sure you take these connections seriously and follow up with them. While getting a job in journalism is certainly about how good your clips are, many publications go through hundreds of applications and references within the company will go a long way.
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