Internships abroad are sending J-school students to tell stories across the globe

On the first day of Nathan Sing’s internship at CNN’s London bureau, he bumped into Christiane Amanpour on his way to get coffee. 

“She started as an intern as well many, many years ago. The majority of the people I work with started off as interns,” Sing said. “I'm surrounded and working with people that I've been inspired by and to work alongside them or in the same building as them has been really inspiring to me and has really pushed me to work even harder.”

International internships give RSJ students the chance to experience newsrooms or workplaces that operate amidst different cultures and diverse cities. Though it may require a bit more planning work from the student, an international internship gives students a chance to broaden their perspective and tell stories from around the world. 

Prior to applying for his internship with CNN in London, Sing worked for Global News and freelanced for Xtra and VICE but, he said: “I just felt an itch that I wanted to go overseas.” 

Before his internship, Sing participated in RSJ’s exchange program. He felt that helped prepare him so he wasn’t just thrown into the city without knowing anyone or anything. During his exchange he also met a contact that helped push him into applying with CNN. 

“I didn't really think of CNN as a place that I could intern just because of me being a Canadian. But I was at an event and I met Stephanie Wells, an FCAD alumni,” Sing said. Wells, RSJ ‘06, is a senior producer at CNN international, who participates in FCAD’s UK Mentorship Program. “She asked me if I wanted to come to her office and she told me that was an internship available for all students.”

Sing’s internship came together last minute, which drove his parents crazy, but he said so many people told him to take the risk if it was something he really wanted. 

“One of my mentors, Eternity Martis, [RSJ ‘16] gave me my first paid byline when I was in first year. She told me to just do it because she wished she did it when she was my age,” Sing said. “For someone like her that I looked up to, who had been a mentor for me since I got to Ryerson...really gave me confidence that I was going in the right direction and not being very naive with my decisions.”

After she was unable to go on an exchange in her third-year, RSJ alumni Alexia Del Priore knew she wanted to pursue an international internship. She had a destination in mind, Florence, Italy, even though she knew finding a placement would be a bit of a challenge. 

“Some places wanted fluency in both Italian and English. My background is Italian on both sides and my father speaks fluently, however, he sadly never taught me when I was younger,” Del Priore said. “I decided to start looking up places where I could take some Italian classes during my time there.”

She found the British Institute of Florence, which offered daily Italian classes for their interns, and reached out to them about their social media internship. 

“Not only was I gaining valuable work experience but I also got to improve heavily and expand on my knowledge of the language,” she said.

Despite her Italian heritage, Del Priore still found she had to adjust when she arrived in Florence. 

“I did not expect just how relaxed the environment and culture would be compared to here in Toronto,” she said. “I can only imagine if fast-paced, coffee-fueled newsrooms here saw how they lived and worked in Italy. My coworkers would often tell me that I am ‘sempre di fretta’ which means that I am always in a hurry, or always rushing. It would make me laugh and really reflect on the extremely fast-paced lives we do live here in North America.”

Though it was daunting to start researching and arranging an international internship, Del Priore would encourage students who want to pursue one to go for it. 

“You’ll not only walk away with a wealth of knowledge and experience of a different culture, but you will also have made life-long connections and friends in a different country that you wouldn’t have met otherwise,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity you will never look back and regret having done.”

That international experience was something that RSJ student David Venn, also wanted to gain during his time at Ryerson. He interned at Star Publishing Company in Saint Lucia. 

“I wanted to gain an international experience as well as a professional experience. As we know, journalism is not the easiest field to make nowadays,” he said. “For me it was just really about having a life experience, rather than thinking about what the most optimal professional experience would be to push my career forward.”

Venn now works as a News Reporter for the Toronto Star. As an intern, he reported on stories ranging from federal politics to local entertainment. He said he learned a lot about the history of colonialism and imperialism where he interned; things that he hadn’t experienced being a European immigrant in Canada. As a student, he believed that immersing yourself in different demographics can test on how well you can enter into a new side of the world, and still be able to operate professionally. 

“It gives you a learning experience far out from what the classroom can offer you, because you're learning about these things in a real life setting,” he said. 

As an unpaid intern for a small newspaper, Venn didn’t receive hourly pay or an honorarium, only compensation for things like phone bills and transportation. Despite not being paid, he believes the experience was an investment in himself that would help him find a job later on in Canada.   

“You can't put a price on how far this internship might boost your career if you really work hard at it. Especially when you're talking about internships abroad,” said Venn. “A lot of small community newspapers might not have the means to pay you as much as they would in Canada, but you have to think about why you're going and what you're really doing there.” 

For RSJ students who have been accepted into unpaid internships, Venn recommends negotiating pay with employers in order to get the most of an internship. 

“Even though you are an intern...you are still going to be providing them with a lot of value,” explained Venn. “If you're confident in your work and you know that you're going there to work hard, it's not unreasonable for them to invest in you as much as you're investing in them.”

An internship at CBC in London, U.K, taught RSJ alumni Mansoor Tanweer about what it takes to work in a high-stress environment like a fast-paced newsroom.  

“You watch the process, and you kind of start to get an understanding of the way things are done and why they're done that way,” recalled Tanweer. “When it comes time for you to actually enter the workforce you're not starting at zero, you have a pretty strong knowledge base already. All in all, it was hard work, but I enjoyed every minute of it.”

Previously a reporter for The Pointer, Tanweer used his research experience at CBC to help his reporting career. As an intern, one of the many duties Tanweer was tasked with was preparing research packages for veteran CBC foreign correspondents such as Margaret Evans, Nalah Ayed, and senior technology reporter Thomas Daigle. 

“They come to me with a question, I'd research it, and I would have a long multi-page document for everything that they needed to know,” he said. “That is the bare bones of journalism...that was a valuable skill, researching and knowing what sort of resources are available out there in the world for you to look at.”

During an internship, Tanweer says that one thing he wished he would have done was ask about more opportunities that were available to him as an intern at the time.    

“You're going there at the end of the day for yourself… definitely ask questions about how exactly your skills are going to be developed while you're there, and what options are available to develop those skills,” said Tanweer. 

To prepare for going into the professional newsroom, Tanweer says that getting as much experience in that environment as early as possible can help students get a foot in the door for internships. As a student, he says being an on air host reading the news at The Scope’s radio station really prepared him for interning at the CBC.

“Go work for RuTV News to go see what it's like to be in a studio. Go to The Eyeopener and do as much as possible with them so you can build a name for yourself,” he said. “Find a way to be inside some sort of newsroom and be part of that routine.” 

Tanweer believed students should be taking advantage of Ryerson’s great reputation across the country as a journalism school, as he believes it brings opportunities to students who want to intern abroad. 

“[Internships] are huge opportunities that very few other schools have….students need to know how lucky they are that they're getting something like this”, said Tanweer. “Once you realize how lucky you are you, should take full advantage of all the resources that are available to you to help you develop your skills.”

- with files from Jaclyn Mika