Throughout my college career, I’ve written for my college’s newspaper and magazine, and gained experience in radio from my first internship at WFYI-FM, an NPR member station in Indianapolis, Indiana. Although I was well versed in many mediums of storytelling, nothing could have prepared me for this summer.

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During the ten weeks at Bustle Digital Group, I got to write for publications like Bustle and Elite Daily, and work with the entertainment and lifestyle teams.

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Covering entertainment news was something I’d never done before, and I had no idea how I would find a story, pitch it, and write it and do this all in a timely manner so that the story was still relevant by the time it went up. However, in the third week of my internship, I found my first news story at 2 a.m. I was so excited, I messaged the entertainment news editor right then and there because I didn't want to to risk having it already be covered by someone else come morning.

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Luckily, the following day, I was approved to write the story along with a friendly reminder that pitching stories can wait until the morning, (oops). I sat at my computer, ecstatic to get started. I dove into the story headfirst. I must have hit my head on my way in and passed out because by the time I finished the story I looked at the clock and it was time to go home. It was so discouraging when I realized it had taken me all day to write that story. But that was my first piece, and since then, stories that would have taken me a day to write are now completed within an hour. I never imagined I would have improved so drastically in the remaining weeks. Seeing the time improvement in my work was definitely the biggest accomplishment during my internship.

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A few of the perks that came with my internship included getting to attend an advanced screening of The Lion King, helping with BDG’s beauty sale, and interviewing Zuri Adele from Good Trouble.

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Something that made my internship special was the one-on-one interactions I got to have with editors. I was encouraged to join brainstorm meetings and to make personal connections with editors across all the brands.

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Aside from the cool interviews and fun events, I was able to have the opportunity to produce several strong clips. I also gained many valuable skills like learning the proper way to pitch editors, learning more about SEO, and about producing timely content at a fast pace.

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When I wasn’t working, I made it a priority to take full advantage of everything NYC has to offer. I enjoyed evenings in Washington Square Park, got to see a Broadway show, walked The High Line, and ate too many pieces of one dollar pizza.

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Before my ASME internship, to live in New York City was never the dream, but now I can’t think of living anywhere else! My ASME internship was truly a life-changing experience. It tested my storytelling skills and gave me the rare opportunity to work first-hand in the career I want to be a part of full-time in the future.