EXCITING Update: Meredith Apprenticeship

Happy Tuesday! If you follow me on other forms of social media, you likely already know what this exciting announcement is all about. Either way, I thought I would explain the situation in more detail for you here!

The story actually begins when I was a junior in high school. In the spring of my junior year my mom and I drove to Ames, Iowa for a campus tour of Iowa State University. Going into my college search, I knew that I was interested in journalism and fashion/apparel merchandising, so I searched for schools that had both of these programs. Interestingly enough, ISU was one of the schools that I found. Immediately I thought why the heck would I go to Iowa? But, I was determined to consider all of my options so we scheduled a tour. The moment I stepped onto the campus I felt at home. I was able to talk to students and professors from the journalism school which made the trip much more personal. I appreciated that the journalism program requires a 400 hour internship. Additionally, the student ambassador detailed her time as an apprentice with a major magazine publishing company. As we drove away, I knew I could see myself attending ISU as a journalism major.

I committed to ISU and started right into journalism courses. I loved what I was learning and the opportunities I could take advantage of both related and unrelated to my studies. In February of last year I got an email from the journalism school advertising an info meeting about the Meredith Apprenticeship Program. My favorite professor from first semester was in charge of this program and I wanted to know more. However, you could only apply for the program when you would be a junior the following year. I emailed my professor to see if I could at least go to the meeting to get more information. She said yes and not too long afterwards, I found myself seated amongst other students buzzing with excitement. I came away from the meeting set on applying the next year and counting down the days.

This February I attended the interest meeting again, this time able to apply for the apprenticeship. A little information about this opportunity, Meredith Corporation is the third largest magazine publishing company in the nation and its headquarters are in Des Moines, IA. How crazy, right? Magazines such as Better Homes and Gardens, Midwest Living and Traditional Home are housed under this company. Every year, Iowa State chooses 10 students to be apart of the Meredith Apprenticeship Program. Seven students are chosen for editorial or digital apprenticeships and three students are chosen for digital apprenticeships. Each student is placed with a specific magazine or team within the company. These are paid apprenticeships that last for the entire academic year. Needless to say, I started working on the application as soon as it came out.

I submitted the application and all of my materials before spring break and the week following break I heard back that I was a finalist for the program. This meant that I would have an interview not too long after. We also got to learn about the possible placements and rank them based on our preferences. My interview went extremely well and I also got to attend a dinner with the current apprentices to ask them tons of questions. After all of this, I felt confident, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.

Late on a Friday night a week or two ago, I started getting texts from friends who had also gone through the process for the Meredith Apprenticeship Program. I was watching previews for a movie and started freaking out. I pulled up my email as quickly as I could and quickly skimmed the email to find my name next to Better Homes and Gardens, my #1 choice!

I am so beyond excited to announce that I have been named a Meredith Apprentice for the 2018-19 academic year. Beginning in September, I will be an apprentice with Better Homes and Gardens. I will continue classes at Iowa State, but I will travel to Des Moines to work 15-20 hours a week at the Meredith headquarters. I will be writing, editing, attending meetings, going to photoshoots, and networking. I truly cannot wait to get started with this amazing and reputable company and magazine.

Thank you so much to the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication and my advisor (who is in charge of this program) for this amazing opportunity. I am also so grateful to have had the opportunity to work for the Iowa State Daily, Trend magazine, continue writing my blog, and so much more. I have definitely learned to take advantage of any and every opportunity thrown my way.

Thank you to Abigail Faith Goeser for being willing to take these amazing photos for this announcement!

I hope you enjoyed this post! I look forward to continuing to update you on this amazing experience. I have the highly requested "Everyday Essentials" post drafted and I plan to post it soon, so stay tuned! I hope you have a wonderful week and enjoy the spring weather!

#LIFESTYLE