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Profile
of Sarah Kotzman, Intern, PPW/Writing Center, 8/05
Story and Photo by Sarah Kotzman
 You
can say I’ve gone a little gung-ho with the whole school thing
(but haven’t all PPW students? I’ve noticed a pattern,
and I like it.) I’m a writing major here at Pitt with a related
area in Photography. I’m working towards my PPW certificate,
and I attend the Art Institute of Pittsburgh for a diploma in Digital
Design. So how does it all come together? Some day I hope to master
all aspects of the magazine industry; being the boss would be nice.
My internships are steps toward this. Both Pam O’Brien and
Jean Grace suggested I work for the PPW program/Writing Center,
knowing that their program could offer work that would combine my
skills in writing and design.
I am really pleased with what I’ve been able to do within
the program. At first, the internship honestly didn’t feel
like an internship: casual dress, relaxed environment, flexible
hours, and two supervisors that feel more like friends than authority.
But is that a bad thing? Certainly not. I have no problem with the
chill environment (figuratively and literally speaking: the Writing
Center has the best air conditioning on campus), because the work
I have been able to publish both in print and on the web has been
extremely valuable.
So what all happens behind these Thaw Hall walls? My writing has
varied from blurbs and summaries to full newsletter articles. I
helped to create and finalize the layout of the PPW newsletter,
Write Now,
using InDesign. I have also had the opportunity to interview
and photograph interns and faculty members on their “turf,”
a valuable factor when it comes to writing a profile. I’m
currently helping Jean design a new course for Pitt, to be proposed
in January, which will teach both writing and design skills. Now
that will look good on a resume! I recently photographed for the
Writer’s Café website, and am working to create logos
and other visual accents for the PPW program’s many websites.
I constantly hear that writing majors (and art majors for that matter)
need clips clips and more clips; this experience has definitely
helped me achieve that need. The fact that possible employers will
be able to view many examples of my work via mouse-click is very
exciting.
It’s nice getting out of the academic world. Sure, I’m
still seated in a university building, but the vibe is completely
different. There are no longer revisions upon revisions: at first,
yes, but now I feel that I can write in the program’s voice,
or in my own. It’s also great to have my designs and art happily
approved. It’s extremely rewarding when you can hand your
supervisor a piece of work and get “looks good! I’m
posting it” as a response. I’m sure other interns can
relate. Here’s to more of that!
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