Career Enhancement funds enable students to travel to a variety of journalism and business-related conferences and workshops and provide financial support for students who take un- and low-paid internships.
Students from The Michigan Daily, Michiganensian yearbook, Gargoyle and SHEI magazine learn from industry professionals and network with students from schools across the country. Upon their return they share insights, tools and knowledge gained from attending with others on their team and throughout Student Publications, increasing the return on your investment in their future.
The average cost to send one student to a conference is $1,200 (includes conference registration fee, travel and lodging). You'll find the impact of attending a conference, or receiving support when accepting an un- or low-paid internship is priceless, as you read the following reflections.
Zhane Y. At the fall convention in New Orleans I attended sessions on story packaging, free speech, working in news deserts and how to be a good Editor in Chief.
What was most meaningful about the conference was the connections that I made. I got the chance to talk to student journalists from all across the college media ecosystem — something that I’ve been insulated from in my time here in Ann Arbor. I met with the Editor in Chief of The Minnesota Daily and talked about the rising campus unrest on both of our campuses. I also talked to the Editor in Chief of The Daily Bruin, and we talked about what it meant to lead a student organization that was so large. These connections helped me better understand what The Daily really is — and, if I do say so myself, how absolutely cool we are! In addition to this valuable networking,
I got the chance to really talk to my fellow Daily Staffer. We spent hours talking about the future of The Daily, the future of student journalism and how to make the organization better on the whole.
Dana G. Last summer I worked as a student intern with Helen Uffner Vintage Clothing LLC. I had the privilege of working with one of the largest collections of vintage and historic clothing in North America. I learned how to properly identify time period of garments, learned how to properly measure garments which is essential for garments to fit actors properly, and learned so much about the costume design industry. I was able to make enough connections with designers from both Broadway and film/tv that I have a wardrobe production assistant job lined up for after graduation back in New York City. I networked my way onto being a wardrobe assistant for a music video as well.
I learned so much from this experience and am grateful for the funding I was provided as it helped this internship in such an expensive city be less of a financial burden. I am thankful for all of the spectacular connections I made, how much I learned about my industry and craft, and for the growth the difficulties of this internship provided.
