Hi, I’m Charly. I’m 15 years old and currently a freshman in high school at the German Embassy School, and these last two weeks (May 21-31), I’ve been interning with the Beijinger.
When choosing an internship, I was 100 percent sure I wanted to do something in the field of journalism, since I’ve been interested in journalism for quite some time. As I am a frequent reader of the Beijinger, it immediately came to mind.
I’ve always loved writing, and having lived in three different countries, I have an incredibly international background, which just made me want to see even more of the world. Considering this, journalism was definitely the right choice; not only can you learn loads about the world and different cultures, but you can also express yourself through your writing and get to hear other people’s stories.
Going into this internship, I honestly wasn’t expecting much. I was just incredibly keen on learning loads about the world of journalism. I went into my internship open-minded and with a hunger for soaking up as much information as humanly possible. As an intern, I was honestly kind of expecting to just watch the magic happen from the sidelines.
But I was wrong when it came to that part.
I was not treated like a typical intern or as if I was unqualified, which I definitely thought was. Instead, I was welcomed with open arms and got to participate in the publishing of many articles. Together with the Beijinger team, I got to publish my first ever article, which had me ecstatic. To say I was surprised about how seriously I was treated and how much I got to do would be an understatement.
During my time at the Beijinger, my tasks exceeded my highest hopes. Not only did I get to write several articles, but I also led interviews, participated in a livestream with company co-founder Toni Ma, and learned how to use the Beijinger’s website.
Writing is definitely one of my passions, so I was so lucky to be able to work with a team of such talented writers who supported me through the whole writing process. They taught me a lot about the editing process as well as just in general about journalism. If I had any questions concerning pretty much anything, they were always open-minded; I never felt like I should be afraid of asking questions. I immediately felt welcomed by everyone and I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity to have met and worked with all these wonderful and talented people.
My favorite article to write was definitely “Meet Five Special Dogs Looking for Adoption in Beijing | the Beijinger,” mainly because I got to hear all about Daphne Huatagalung’s inspiring story of how she rescues strays from the Beijing streets, but also because I felt like I was helping these five dogs find their forever homes. Journalism isn’t only pure reporting, but it’s telling other people’s stories and giving them an opportunity to be heard. That’s truly what I’m passionate about so I enjoyed writing this piece immensely.
During the writing process of each article, I got to contact so many amazing people with their own unique backgrounds. Meeting and talking to all these people will definitely leave a lasting impact on me when it comes to being even more open-minded and taking other opinions, cultures, and interests into account.
When I started my internship, I was really surprised how relaxed the atmosphere at the True Run Media office was. Instead of a bustling and stressful environment, like I expected it to be, everyone was calm, laid back, and extremely focused on their tasks. I was in awe of how friendly, open, and humorous everyone was in their communication with each other.
During my livestream with Toni, I discussed my experience as a third culture kid. I was never really keen on public speaking or similar things, but I tried to go into this open-minded. And it was worth it, I enjoyed my livestream with Toni immensely. She made me feel incredibly at ease, and I loved sharing my experience with other people who were as keen as me to get to know others’ stories.
Many people have told me that I shouldn’t get my hopes up and that most internships are boring, and that they only learned what they do not want to do in the future. For me it was quite the opposite. Instead of a boring and repetitive internship, I got an extremely fun and exciting internship, which only reinforced my dream to become a journalist.
Internships are meant to give you an insight into work life and help you figure out what you do or do not want to do later on in life. This internship was definitely an enriching and fulfilling experience that taught me a lot. The skills I learned during my internship won’t only help me during my further education, but will also help later in life when I’m ready to fully dive into work life. An internship is definitely an amazing opportunity for anyone; no matter what you’re interested in or what your background is, an internship is enriching for absolutely everyone. If you do have the opportunity to participate in an internship, I highly encourage you to do so.
Images: Charly Kutscher
