Bryce Beard Gets Published: An Internship with FutureHeights
Published Wednesday, August 16, 2023 Bryce Beard interned at FutureHeights this summer for his Y.O.U. Internship. This fall, Bryce will be starting his junior at Gilmour Academy, where he participates in speech and debate, cross country, and yearbook club. He is interested in journalism and law. Read his article from the Heights Observer below.
I am Bryce Beard, a new intern at FutureHeights, and soon to be a junior at Gilmour Academy.
The internship was made possible through Cleveland-based Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.). On my very first day at the FutureHeights office, Kristine Pagsuyoin, the executive director of FutureHeights and publisher of the Heights Observer, asked me to write about myself and outline in this article what I’ll be working on as a summer intern.
In my first week, beginning July 17, my first assignment was to write this piece.
I have already learned that writing for a newspaper is completely different from writing for a school project. I've learned a new style of writing, including the inverted-triangle concept, a strategy journalists use to organize their writing. Using the inverted triangle, writers lead with the most important information.
After I finish this piece, I’ll be working on distribution of the paper. As a resident of University Heights, I hope to help expand distribution of the Heights Observer in that city.
I will also be working on the Heights Observer’s social media, and I am already researching ideas to create a dedicated Heights Observer Facebook page.
I first learned of this internship opportunity in April, through a school mentor who encouraged me to apply for the Y.O.U. internship program.
Y.O.U.'s mission is to empower young people by providing opportunities that will enable them to become valuable members of Ohio’s workforce.
After applying, each student interviews with a Y.O.U. placement specialist and describes their interests and past experience in the field of their choice. Upon a student's acceptance to the internship program, Y.O.U. specialists begin looking for an appropriate placement. Throughout their 120-hour internships, all Y.O.U. interns receive professional-skills training, networking opportunities and stipends, as well as hands-on work experience.
For myself and the other Y.O.U. interns, this will be our first real-world professional opportunity. To learn more about Y.O.U.'s internship program, visit www.youcle.org/internships.
For now, I look forward to making connections, asking questions, and gaining experience at FutureHeights. I cannot wait to see where this experience leads.