By Laurie Bedord, Future Agricultural Communicators Chair
The American Agricultural Editors’ Association (AAEA) is accepting applications for two 2018 AAEA summer internships.
The first undergraduate college student in agricultural communications will be chosen to work as an editorial communications intern for Successful Farming (Meredith Agrimedia) in Des Moines, Iowa.
“Our interns and apprentices don’t come to work here and get stuck doing menial tasks, such as internet research, organizing files, or assisting at staff events,” says Dave Kurns, Editorial Content Director for Meredith Agrimedia. “We put them to work – giving them opportunities across a variety of media to build their experience, their skills, and their portfolios. We give interns active news stories to write (for web and print), pages to design, and more. We offer them independence to get a task done but the guidance, feedback, and mentorship to make sure it’s done to our standards.”
A second student will be selected for the AAEA marketing communications internship and will work for Padilla in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“The intern will have an opportunity to manage a large, company-wide initiative that is critical to the organization,” says Padilla’s Megan Fairchild Anderson. “He or she will get to interact with employees across all of our offices and functions. This person will also get to learn from some of the best communication professionals in the business and will get exposure to a midsize agency with agriculture, food and beverage expertise.”
Candidates for both internships must possess strong verbal and written communication skills, the ability to take the initiative, be a multi-tasker as well as have strong leadership skills.
Each intern will earn a $4,500 stipend for approximately 10 weeks and another $1,000 toward the cost of attending the Agricultural Media Summit in Phoenix, Arizona (August 4 to 8, 2018). Both internships are made possible through grants from the AAEA Professional Improvement Foundation.
Internship applications are available on the internship page.
If you know of a student who has the necessary skills, along with a passion for our profession, please pass along this information. And be sure to forward this announcement to the ACT advisor at your alma mater!
All applications must be postmarked or emailed on or before Monday, February 5, 2018.