Wrapping up at Seacrest Studios

This coming Friday is my final day interning for CHOP’s Galaxy 51/Seacrest studios. It’s bittersweet. Bitter because I really loved it, but sweet because I have some time to focus on all my final projects before the end of the semester. Yep, it is finally time to head out into the real world and look for a “real” job.

So, let me just give you my overall opinion about this internship…….

The studio is still a work in progress. There is a lot that they are currently looking to change, or better, about their operations. This is great for someone who has ideas and loves exploring them. With that comes a lot of trial and error. Some programs that run on their channel are watched by a ton of kids in the hospital, while others are struggling to get their attention. For example, we have done some live shows where we are begging kids to call in just so we can give them a prize, yet bingo (everyday from 2-3 pm) has a real following. Because of this, there is a ton of creative freedom. Like an ad agency, you pitch your ideas and see what they pick up. See how your clients (the children) respond.

However, although you have creative freedom, there is still daily work in the meantime that needs to be done, so you have to be crafty with how you introduce new things. For example, I did crafts for my live radio show every Friday. I assumed kids would be more interested in that then watching me talk. I also offered to make promotional stills to run during commercial breaks. Currently they have nothing promoting their shows or events….. but with all my work I barely had time to do it. It’s just a matter of thinking outside the box. I haven’t held up to my end of the bargain…… yet, but I talked to them and told them I will work on stills for them and still remain in contact as much as possible.

I think the one thing I pulled from this internship is that even though working in the studio didn’t give me an insane amount of experience in my field, I can really use my skills and knowledge to help people. Whether those people are kids, or just the studio itself (which pretty much just aims to please kids), it just feels good to know that I am doing some good in the world.