I am pleased to be writing in order to reflect on my previous internship that I have completed thanks to the funding at the AIO. This summer I spent two months working at CKUT radio as a spoken word intern where I both continued to produce the Expanding Economics podcast as well as learned about and took part in the process of broadcast journalism.
I am a fourth year student majoring in Economics and Sociology. Throughout my time at McGill I have been a part of Expanding Economics, a student advocacy group targeted at promoting critical thinking and change in the field of economics. During my time in the club I have taken over the podcast that is produced in collaboration with CKUT, McGills community radio station, that aims to amplify otherwise unheard voices and perspectives. It is through this project that I learned about the opportunity to intern with the organization. I wanted to take part in this internship because I saw it as a great opportunity to further develop my skills through a project that I was already passionate about as well as explore new forms of media and communication that I had not yet been exposed to.
As an intern, when it came to producing the podcast, my time was very much self directed. I would inform my supervisor Jack when I was starting and finishing an episode and how I was progressing along the way but it was largely up to me to create a schedule for myself and stay committed to it.
Beyond the podcast, I also helped tech live events and shows at CKUT when help was needed. It was through this that I experienced one of the highlights of my internship which was to be involved on the ground with the Montreal Fringe festival. As the festival was occurring we assisted one of the culture radio shows to interview artists in between shows. Through this experience I got involved with a community event that I likely wouldn’t have otherwise, let alone is such an immersive and meaningful way.
As mentioned in my previous report, producing the podcast during the summer proved to be more difficult than during the school year. This is because many of our episodes take on an interview format, however, during the summer months, given that there are less people available on campus, I had to pivot to more individual and researched based episodes which proved to be significantly more time consuming. On the bright side, through these episodes I gained a much more in-depth understanding of my topic and the ability to speak on it clearly and concisely.
In all, I believe that this internship greatly added to my university experience. The Expanding Economics podcast has been a major addition to my degree in the sense that it has allowed me to prove deeper into the topics that I learn in the classroom, be critical towards them and learn how to communicate them in a new and original way. What’s more, the community at CKUT is one that I was proud to be a part of and will certainly continue to engage with even after finishing my time at McGill.
I will not be receiving credit for this internship, however the funding that the AIO provided me through the generous contributions of its donors made this experience possible for me. Without such funding I simply would not have the time to dedicate to the project as I would have needed to find full time work in its place. I would like to express my utmost gratitude towards all the donors that make such experiences possible and hope that someday I am able to pass on the favor to future McGillians.
