University of Minnesota Athletics
What I'm Doing This Summer: Jackie Voigt
6/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
This is the first of a summer series on GopherSports.com that will feature reports written by members of the women's basketball team that detail some of the interesting things they're doing this summer. Today's "What I'm Doing This Summer" feature is written by senior forward Jackie Voigt, who is completing her sport management degree by doing an internship at WCCO-TV.
This summer is going to be a busy one for me! Not only will I be in the weight room, running on the track, and getting better on the court, I will also be working over 400 hours for an internship credit that is required for me in order to officially earn my degree in sport management.
I was extremely lucky to find an internship right here in Minneapolis, working at WCCO-TV, and specifically with their sports producer and anchors. With a minor in communication studies, broadcasting is something that has always been an interest of mine. Because I am not sure exactly what I want to do when I am done here at Minnesota, I am taking this opportunity to see if the broadcasting and reporting field is an area I would like to further pursue.
So far, I am really enjoying the internship. WCCO is full of great people, and it has been a pleasure working there. Much of my job involves me watching different sports games and events on TV and finding highlights for the newscasts. With how much I love sports, I don't know how anyone could complain for having to do this!
I also have had the opportunity to go out in the field and watch games live, as well as to go out with reporters when they have a story to shoot. While I haven't made it on TV quite yet, I have had the chance to do a lot of practicing in front of the camera and some other practice writing scripts for baseball, hockey, and basketball games.
About once a week, I go out with a reporter and photographer to cover a story and they help me do my own stand-ups in front of the camera. This can involve saying the same thing over and over, sometimes 20 to 30 times, until they think I got a good one! Both the reporter and the photographer give me a lot of good feedback and advice to make the stand-ups even better.
Another really fun part of my job is getting to meet a lot of cool people, including some great athletes. Every Sunday, WCCO has a sports show in which they bring in one or two guests that sports director Mark Rosen interviews. Some of the people I have had the opportunity to meet include Maya Moore, Candice Wiggins, Governor Mark Dayton, and various sports writers and analysts from all over. It has also been very cool to get to work with the people I have seen on TV all the time, like Frank Vascellaro, Amelia Santaniello, Mike Max, and Mark Rosen.
One of my favorite things I have gotten to do so far was to attend a Twins press conference. Sadly, it was following the death of Harmon Killebrew, but it was really neat to sit in front of people like Tony Oliva, Paul Molitor, and Kent Hrbek, who were there speaking about Harmon. A big part of this job that I have found so interesting is seeing everything that goes on behind the scenes. It can get pretty crazy in the newsroom and in the producer's booth come show time. Many times, things are happening so last-minute that people are running all over the place!
So, right now, I am about one month into the internship and I am loving it! I still have the rest of the summer, so I am sure I will have a lot more neat opportunities ahead of me and I'll meet a lot of other cool people.
And, who knows, if you start watching Channel 4 ... maybe you'll see me on TV. :)
