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Profile
of Andy Marshall, Intern, Public & Professional Writing Program,
University of Pittsburgh, 12/07
by Andy Marshall
 Walking
into this internship, I really had no idea what to expect. It was
my first time ever doing an internship, though I have been working
for pay since the age of 15. In fact, even while doing the internship,
I was working two jobs and taking 15 credits. I knew that I wanted
an internship that was on campus, something that would be convenient
for my busy schedule. Little did I know, this semester has taught
me more about myself than any of the time I have worked over the
past six years.
I received an email in midsummer because the PPW Program was looking
for an intern. I wanted something that would be on campus, so this
seemed perfect. I responded to the email and got the position almost
immediately. Still, I didn’t know what I was in for.
Pursuing my degree in Communication and Rhetoric, as well as my
PPW Certificate, I had always been a good academic writer. One of
the big tasks I had was to write multiple articles for the PPW newsletter,
Write Now. I quickly realized how different this type of writing
was from academic writing. I had to work hard to find my voice in
my writing. Once I was able to find the voice that worked best for
me, writing became much easier.
I worked on several different articles for the newsletter, but my
favorite one was when I interviewed Horacio Moya, who is in Pittsburgh
through the City of Asylum Program. He is, without a doubt, one
of the most amazing people that I have ever spoken to. To go through
the hardships he had faced in his own country, only to continue
to write, is just remarkable.
Along with writing articles, I was in charge of creating a spreadsheet
to track all of the PPW alumni. I also organized and did the publicity
for several events, including the PPW End-of-Term Celebration.
Ultimately, I was pleased with my internship experience. I learned
how to keep myself motivated in a loose environment. I had never
had anything like that in my life. I also learned that I could never
be a journalist. I had many instances where I had trouble getting
people to respond to my emails, which was frustrating and held up
a lot of my projects.
My advice to incoming interns is simple: Keep your priorities straight.
Don’t let life get in the way of letting yourself learn as
much as possible during your internship.
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