I learned how to hunt in New York City. Okay, not literally, but when you’ve read hundreds of pages of Field & Stream, the hunting and fishing magazine ironically located at the heart of the United States’ largest metropolis, you learn a lot about hunting. And fishing. And writing.

 

Prior to coming here for the summer, I did freelance writing about the outdoors and the arts. At F&S, I built on this experience by investigating unlikely topics like chronic wasting disease in deer and the spearfishing right off the coast of Long Island. Beyond that, though, I was thrown into the midst of real editorial work at a nationally respected publication — and my internship manager was the editor-in-chief.

 

I edited and copy edited stories at all stages of the editorial process, from narrative print features to web pieces, where I occasionally worked directly with writers on their revisions. I researched and worked with my editors and the art team to compile research visually for a print package. I pitched, wrote, and sourced photos for web pieces. I received several bylines in the print edition. I learned how edit video and went on to edit videos consistently for the rest of the summer. Above all, I developed solid relationships with numerous editors at Field & Stream and Outdoor Life.

 

That’s not to mention the other ASME Interns, my ASME NEXT Mentor, and the editors we engaged with at our weekly lunches. The summer has been a whirlwind of writing, editing, researching … and then talking about the very same things.

 

In two weeks I will return to Colorado. I’ll enjoy riding my mountain bike through wide-open alpine meadows and actually fly fishing instead of just writing about it from a Midtown office. But I’ll miss the late-night walks through the still-bustling streets of New York, when people in most parts of the world would be fast asleep, watching the diverse array of people talking and laughing in parks, coffee shops, and bars. I’ll return to freelance writing and studying English at Wesleyan University. But I’ll miss sitting two cubicles away from my editors, getting drinks with them on occasion, and having all of my emails returned. Still, I know I’ll stay connected with my editors, and I’ll take the skills that I developed and put them to use at my independent student publication Reverberations Mag.

 

While I can’t say I’ll ever make my first “kill” in real life, I now know how to hunt.

 

Follow me on Twitter @Sagafanta. Check out my work at SageMarshall.com