Indy Placement

A few weeks ago (with some persuasion from a lecturer) I decided to apply for a two week placement with the Independent over the summer. In all honesty I was in two minds about applying simply for the reason that as a student, the thought of being thrown into a national paper is so overwhelmingly daunting and I was petrified of being torn to shreds.

Nothing much changed when I decided to take the chance and apply, but talking it over with said lecturer, it made sense to give it a shot. Even with no guarantees of getting past the interview stage - it's all a great experience. And lets face it, nobody is going to get anywhere in life if they don't push themselves to try new things, and step out of their comfort zone. I think it's only then you can really test your capabilities and reach your potential, sounds like a cliche, yes! But this makes it nonetheless true.

After handing in a dubious CV - in the sense I went a bit overboard with the design (see nikkiowen.carbonmade.com for a good olde chuckle) I wasn't so sure I was going to be called for interview, however for some peculiar reason I was called in - Malcolm must have appreciated the intent behind the design even if it was slightly gung-ho.

To be perfectly honest, knowing that two of the third year print journalists had applied made the experience that little bit more nerve racking, this is simply because they have far more experience than me at this stage and probably more to offer the paper.

I went along today feeling relatively nervous and not knowing quite what to expect. I took along a portfolio of my work so far which went down really well and then had a chat about why I wanted the placement.

After getting myself worked up and staying up until 4am this morning playing about with my portfolio; debating on what to include and what to leave buried in a box. I'm pleased to say I thought the interview went really well. I was a lot less nervous once I'd got into the swing of things and answered a few questions. The feedback afterwards was undoubtedly encouraging, but more to the point it was endlessly constructive.

So, I came home to an email this afternoon:

Hi Nikki,

Just to confirm that you were successful in your application for the Independent work placement from July 19-30.

I am sure you will be great – just make sure you make the most of it.

If, for any reason, you are unable to take up the post then please let me know.

Malcolm Bradbrook

Course Leader in Print Journalism

University of Gloucestershire

Jumping in head first...

Well, it's such an honour to have been asked to contribute to the SoGoPro Street Team Blog a few short weeks ago. So I have recently been racking my brains for ideas for blogs and then it dawned on me.

In this blog I'm going to get you all updated on what has been happening on the work experience front for me.

So at the minute, I'm applying for an internship at Star News in Wilmington, NC. I have fallen in love with the concept of working over in the States and now I need to make it happen. It's about 2am here in Cheltenham and I'm going to be working through the night to get my cover letter for the managing editor of Star News Tim Griggs sorted, and I'll starting to piece together my portfolio for him. Unfortunately at the minute I don't have that much in the way of hard copy for him to read, so my mission first thing tomorrow morning is to scoot down to the Gloucestershire Echo HQ and grab some work experience hours. Hopefully then I'll at least get a few more bylines to throw in his direction.

Now back to Southern Gothic Productions, as this is where the love for Wilmington has stemmed. SoGoPro first started in 2009 with the extremely talented Hilarie Burton, Kelly Tenney and Nick Gray pushing their little independent production company out into the world. Since then they've managed to achieve so much in such a short space of time sending a short film entitled 'The True-Love Tale of Boyfriend and Girlfriend', the basis for a feature length film, the the first episode of a web series called 'Friendship Union Community Theatre' and the idea of a graphic novel our way. It sincerely amazed me the following that this venture built up, not only do you get to reap the benefits of this, but SoGoPro actually show you the process that they go through to get the the finished product.

It's such an inspiration and just seeing how the sense of community in Wilmington has helped build the production company up from the ground is truly inspiring. It looks like a magnificent place to be a part of, so that's why I decided to apply for this internship.

Hopefully over the next month or two I will be able to poor a lot of effort into my bid to make it to the States and get where I want to be.

I will keep you updated on the obstacles that surround me and let you all know how things are going in due course.

xo