Quintessential Careers Press:
The Quintessential Guide to Finding and Maximizing Internships
Chapter 8: Internship Case Study
Page 44
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WKPX is a non-commercial, educational radio station owned and operated by School Board of Broward County and located at Piper High School, which Davis attended. Her time there comprised a curricular activity in which she worked in various positions, some simultaneously for the full four years of high school -- as musical director for a year, music librarian for a year, a programmer for two and a half year years, and a specialty show hostess/co-hostess for three and a half years. Davis worked almost full-time at the station during her senior year. After graduation and her time at WKPX, Davis started college at a small private university in a much less lively area of Florida. "It was severely depressing," Davis says, "to start college in the middle of nowhere and have nothing entertainment-related to do. From the minute I started college, I was looking into internships, and there wasn't anything -- except for Disney Radio -- for me."
Davis decided she wanted to spend a summer in New York with her dad and try for something there. "Unfortunately, that didn't work out so well," Davis laments. "I had a few phone interviews, but it's hard to rely on a person you don't know physically exists -- especially in entertainment. I couldn't land any jobs in New York for the summer."
So she refocused her efforts on Central Florida. "I wanted to explore all my entertainment options in the Orlando area. I had spent four years working in college/noncommercial radio, and I figured that a commercial station was a good place to round out my radio education." After searching Cox Communication's job website for weeks, Davis spotted a posting for an unpaid radio-promotions internship at Power 95.3 FM WPYO. Her persistence nailed the internship for her. "I e-mailed my resume and cover letter twice and still didn't receive word," she recalls. "I sent it again and hunted down a name and number for the internship coordinator. When I called, and finally got an answer, he said he never received my resume, so I should send it again directly to him. I called back to ensure he got it, and he asked me to come in immediately for an interview. After that I had to call at least three times before they told me I was hired and another two before I had a start date. Davis interned there as a "Power Player" during the summer and fall of 2006 as she entered her sophomore year of college.
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