Like many people, school was my asylum. I spent hours a day and most of my year there toiling over schoolwork. But my connection to school ran a bit deeper than that.
I was a “staff kid.” I was one of the first students in and the last student out of school. It was a small school of around 100 students from preschool to eighth grade. I grew up with my teachers and they were my second home. My mom was my preschool teacher, and she was my support when I started school and advanced through middle school.
My mom was extremely active in the community creating annual events that continue today and helping to start a recycling program. She instilled in me the importance of giving back and taking care of our environment. My mom always found a way to rope me into helping to organize school functions and events. She was always trying to create fun activities to engage the community and better the school.
Initially, helping with events was a tedious task that I had come to dread. Having to stay hours before and after events setting up and cleaning was something I had wanted to avoid. But I found that I started to seek out that work as I grew.
I chose to go to a smaller high school, with around 200 students, that was focused on environmental activism. In my first year, I was part of an initiative to improve environmental education in the state. We brought students from urban schools to explore our campus and learn about the environment. I loved planning the event and sorting out the logistics and was subconsciously drawn to education.
Through my high school, I became a part of EL Education’s Student Advisory Committee. Our main work was designing and leading the two big events the organization hosts and being with a community of students who want to improve our education. My favorite moments were listening to my peers and being with people on the same wavelength as me about education. My favorite project with them was helping to design a curriculum for students like me in EL schools.
Despite my love for education, I was still focused on my passion for writing. While it is an important aspect I want to pursue, I have realized that there is more I hope to achieve.
When I applied to PrepareRI, I registered for an internship focused on writing. When describing the work I have done and the passions I have, I talked about my work in improving environmental education and creating a curriculum. When I was matched with Rhode Island PBS I was a bit hesitant about how it aligned with my career goal to become a writer. Yet after having an amazing interview with my supervisors, I was excited to do work at library events that had been a huge part of my childhood.
Once I started at Rhode Island PBS, everything clicked into place. The hours flew by, and I loved helping to plan events and designing flyers, certificates, and worksheets. I enjoyed setting up events and being a part of education without the confines of a classroom. I hadn’t considered the variety of work in education, but being an intern for the Education Services department made me realize and reflect on how much I enjoy education.
I learned about the work that goes into creating educational shows and I got to explore PBS LearningMedia, creating a post connecting these resources to a holiday.
The highlight of my time as a Rhode Island PBS intern has been the work we do at events. The main project I worked on was Cyberchase Green It Up. We focused on the environmental sessions and had a six-week program covering pollinators, fruit and vegetable container gardens, imperfect foods, food miles, and composting.
The final week was a closing session reflecting on what they’ve learned in the session through a digital media piece that we tied into the sessions. I was able to create my own digital media share and showcased it during our second-week session on fruit and vegetable container gardens. I got to create and lead an activity for our composting session, which was an amazing opportunity. I loved interacting with the children and learning from our guest speakers along with the children. It was touching when one of the kids made a thank you note and drew the facilitators, including me. It was heartwarming to know that I left an impression as an intern.
Being at Rhode Island PBS has also exposed me to what happens behind the scenes in broadcasting. I learned about what goes into producing and filming shows. A lot of detail goes into creating a shot and framing is a kind of storytelling. The things that are intentionally focused on and the succession of shots paint a picture and tell a story.
A big project that I have worked on is co-leading a session with my fellow interns on Media Literacy. We have talked about how framing in media can lead us to certain conclusions that might be trying to persuade us to take a certain action. Our session focused on social media and its influence, artificial intelligence, and how to utilize the internet. Our goal is to better equip educators in teaching Media Literacy as students rely more on technology.
My experience has allowed me to learn about media and helped me discover my passion for education. Rhode Island PBS has been a warm, welcoming place and I appreciate that this was my first experience in an office place. This was a key experience in my career journey, and I cherish the memories I have made.
The Education Services department was supportive, cheerful and amazing to work with. I am so honored to have gotten to work with Colleen Kenyon, Renee Gilbert, Gisele Esquivel, and Sarah Trudeau. I also want to recognize my supervisors Sarah Trudeau and Faythann Fallon for their constant support and efforts to ensure we had a well-rounded experience. They made sure that this was the beautiful experience that it was.
