Global Spotlight – Cody Hutchison, The Echo
Cody Hutchison is a Pre-Business major graduating in May 2021. Last Summer, Cody interned with The Echo in Dublin, Ireland.
If you worked on a big project during your internship, please describe what you did to help. The biggest project that I did was on my own and it was a front-page news article. It was my second week and I was assigned the task of an informational interview with a young girl and her mother because the daughter was undergoing a rare cancer treatment. Since I am working for a local newspaper, the paper touches on local news that is interesting to their audience. I did a lot of research on the type of cancer and treatment that the girl would be undergoing. After a lot of email exchanges, I was finally able to talk on the phone to the mother to get all the information I needed to write the article. I then wrote up the article and woke up one morning to it being published on the front page of the newspaper!
What did you find most challenging about your internship? The most challenging part of my internship was figuring out how to utilize my time wisely as there was a lot of down time that I didn’t expect. Also, since the company I worked for was a bit unstructured, figuring out my role with the company the first few weeks was also a challenge. I came in thinking I was going to be a marketing intern but quickly realized that the company had a different plan for me. I was going to be another journalist for them, so instead of being frustrated with this I took it as a learning experience that I quickly really came to like. Although my experience has been something I didn’t expect at all, especially working in a field I am not studying and don’t know much about. It has been a once in a lifetime opportunity because I get to see my name and work published in a newspaper every week.
What advice do you have for other students that are also considering interning abroad? Advice for other students that are considering interning abroad is to ABSOLUTELY DO IT! It has been one of the most incredible experiences I have ever had. Coming in with an open-mind and little expectations was very important. The overall experience of getting to live and work abroad is something that makes you stand out from others because you have a worldlier perspective. You will learn so much about not only a position in your field of study in a different country but also more about another culture as whole.
How did Eller (or your previous coursework) prepare you for your internship? Because my internship was a bit of a surprise as it was a field that wasn’t my area of study, not much could have prepared me for it. However, as Eller requires English courses as a pre-requisite this was a lot of help being I did have recent experience with writing. Although my internship was something I didn’t expect I wouldn’t have changed a thing because the experience has been extremely rewarding.