Preparing for a Career
Southeastern communication student gains valuable experience with NBC News internship
Monday, July 21, 2014
Kaitlyn Morales remembers well her family's evacuation during Hurricane Katrina. Watching the various news stories on the storm and her flooded home community from a hotel room is what first sparked her interest in journalism, said the junior communication major from Covington.
This summer Morales is getting the opportunity to learn more about her selected career from professionals in the business as she works closely with network news staff at NBC. A reporter for the Southeastern Channel's award-winning student newscast "Northshore News," she was selected from a pool of more than 100 applicants for a summer internship at the network's Washington, D.C., bureau.
"Our internships provide excellent educational opportunities to learn the basics of reporting and production by observing and working with professionals at the NBC News Washington Bureau," said Sharon Spurrier, NBC News Washington Bureau internship coordinator.
Southeastern communication student Kaitlyn Morales reports from the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in a story she did for the Southeastern Channel's "Northshore News."
As an intern, Morales works with network news correspondents in research and fact-checking story ideas, attending editorial planning meetings and setting up interviews. She also field produces shoots and interviews, assists in editing NBC news reports for broadcast and online and contributes to print versions of reports posted on NBCNews.com.
"Being selected for this internship is such an honor and a dream come true for me that I would not have been able to achieve if it weren't for Southeastern," said Morales. "I truly believe I would not be at NBC without the instruction and training I gained at the Southeastern Channel. Southeastern has taught me that it is possible to turn your dreams into a reality if you have the courage to pursue them. My work with "Northshore News" has taught me all aspects of broadcast journalism, and it has given me real-world experience with skills that I am currently using."
"It's rare for a college student to receive such a prestigious national network internship as a sophomore, and it shows that Kaitlyn has a terrific future as a television news journalist," said Rick Settoon, general manager of the Southeastern Channel. "Her award-winning reporting, producing and videography work for "Northshore News" is outstanding, and NBC has rightly singled out her talents from a most competitive field of television students from throughout the country.
"Kaitlyn is receiving invaluable real-world, daily experience in a national network television newsroom which will not only provide the advantages of a larger perspective and understanding of the TV news industry, but will also create huge job opportunities when she graduates."
