The Montclair Dispatch Internship

An inside scoop from Eve Mahaney about the endless opportunities of enhancing the learning experience of one's field of study at ‘The Montclair Dispatch.’

The Montclair Dispatch provides more than your average internship.

the montclair dispatch
Eve Mahaney, Staff Photographer and Joseph Michalitsianos, Writer for The Montclair Dispatch. Photo by Scott Kennedy for The Montclair Dispatch.

As a college student, it is important to keep yourself busy during the summer, especially if it involves continuing to learn within your field of study as well as making money along the way. I have been fortunate enough to continue my internship with The Montclair Dispatch the past three summers I’ve been home from college and I enjoy it more than ever.

The thing I love and appreciate most about interning at The Montclair Dispatch during the summer is how much I learn out of school. Instead of filing papers as an intern and letting my brain get a three-month vacation, I am doing critical thinking and being creative as I learn new things about my field (photography) as well as other tasks related to business, design, marketing and much more. Every time I return to college after my summer at The Montclair Dispatch I feel confident with the new tasks I’ve been taught and I’m ready to learn more at school.

This summer I was given a list of various projects that I would be working on during the course of the next few months. Once I completed certain tasks, they were replaced by new ones; I was never bored. I was always given a task to work on. One of the first things I did when I returned this summer was photograph the MFEE Amazing Fundracer 2016. This was an incredible, live event that was a great challenge for me as a young photographer. I was instructed to take certain images, as well as create my own. After taking the images, I had to edit them using Lightroom, an editing system for images. Throughout my time at The Montclair Dispatch I have been taught how to use this editing system and I use it practically every day. This is also great practice for when I am back at college using the same system, now with way more practice because of my internship.

Another event I got the opportunity to photograph was Montclair High School’s junior prom. At The Montclair Dispatch I have been fortunate enough to use expensive, professional photography equipment. I used this equipment as I went with an assistant and photographed couples and friends at the prom myself. This was a rewarding experience that I would not have been able to do if it weren’t for The Montclair Dispatch.

Beyond photography-related objectives, I’ve learned many elements related to business. This includes sending emails, creating prints, making phone calls and more. I am beyond thankful that I’ve been exposed to these tasks because I will certainly need them in the future. Even though I work for The Montclair Dispatch during the summer full-time, I am still able to enjoy my time off from school and relax, managing my time as well as travel. I could not have asked for a better internship leading up to my junior year at college and I’m excited to take the tasks I’ve learned at The Montclair Dispatch with me back to school.

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