Justin Doud, Third-year, Journalism
Journalist and photographer Justin Doud is the news director of Texas Student Television as well as an associate photo editor and project reporter for The Daily Texan. This past summer, Doud interned at Houston’s NPR and PBS station, Houston Public Media. Doud said he gained a lot of respect for public media while producing a story every day, from breaking news to Supreme Court coverage. He also worked on a long-form feature about the effects of federal cuts to SNAP benefits on Houstonians, which he said was one of the times he has looked back on a story and thought, “This is why you do journalism.”
“I know why I’m doing what I’m doing, and I have strong ethical and moral convictions that guide me towards being a journalist in a responsible way, but a lot of times it feels like that’s not enough,” Doud said. “[In this field], as much as everyone pretends they know what they’re doing, nobody does. Things work out the way that they’re supposed to, especially when you just keep trying.”
Madison Frederick, Fourth-Year, Public Relations
Madison Frederick has worked major festivals like Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits (ACL) as a C3 Presents fall festival marketing intern and previously a guest services production intern. This fall, she was tasked with creating festival story content for the official ACL Instagram, generating just shy of 1 million views (950,622) and 4,028 overall interactions (likes, replies and shares). She was also involved in the creation of an intern-run concert, where Frederick said there was no budget and no help, “For the Love of Music,” at Stubb’s Indoor Stage.
"Do those things that make you uncomfortable. The things that intimidate you scare you, that you never thought you’d be able to do. Just do it. Whether that’s walking up to someone and asking them to get a coffee chat or just trying to get to know someone organically in an industry you want to work in,” Frederick said. “Make yourself valuable and do things that stand out. When you’re given a normal task, just go above and beyond…to show that you want to be there and that you have passion and you care.”
Jesus Martinez, Third-Year, RTF
This summer, Jesus Martinez was an original content intern at Apple TV Plus in Los Angeles. He worked in creative development for film and TV, reading and evaluating scripts, attending pitches, finding and connecting talent, helping to develop projects from early stages, and collaborating with both domestic and international teams. Martinez said there was a lot of responsibility in being the only intern and emphasized the importance of intentionality behind how he spent his time. He emphasized how some people think meeting everyone in the company is the most important part, but he wanted to get his footing and put out good work in order to make educated decisions on who to build relationships with later on.
"There’s so many people in an industry like Hollywood. It’s very easy for things to seem very transactional. I’m not going to talk to someone because of an opportunity they’ve had before. I’m going to connect with people out of genuine interest,” Martinez said. “I didn’t want to seem inauthentic…[I wanted to] create meaningful relationships that … can, one day, yes, be helpful in the industry, but also just lead to a mentorship or friendship.”
Victoria Mears, Fourth-Year, Speech, Language and Hearing Science
Victoria Mears is currently in the experiential learning and clinical research class taught by Professor Courtney Byrd, where she works with children and adults who stutter and understands how to implement the care model into therapy. In her third year, Mears was an assistant teacher at the Capitol School of Austin, where she worked in the first grade and preschool. Mears said she saw children’s communication and speech and language skills develop throughout the semester. Both experiences have shown her the benefit of individualized support. Mears said it has been wonderful working with both children and adults one-on-one, whether that be at the Blank Center for Stuttering Education and Research, through public speaking or at the Capitol School.
"I think my biggest advice would be to not be afraid to get uncomfortable and to put yourself in uncomfortable situations,” Mears said. “For me personally, that’s where I’ve seen the most amount of growth. Initially I was nervous about applying for the [experiential learning] class through the Blank Center, but it has been so rewarding and has given me such a new perspective."
