Left to right) Steve Bertoni ’02, Natalie Sportelli ’15, and Kurt Badenhausen ’94 in the Forbes library. (Photo by Zach D Roberts)
Colgate students are participating in internships in a variety of fields and locations this summer. This post is by Natalie Sportelli ’15, an English major from Jamesville, N.Y., who is working at Forbes magazine.
This summer, I moved to New York City to work for the editorial department at Forbes magazine. Covering business, politics, investing and more, Forbes Inc. is a dual-platform media company that publishes a biweekly magazine, operates a high-traffic website, and hosts summits where the world’s foremost leaders in their fields come together to discuss topics like philanthropy, health care, and entrepreneurship.
When I started my internship at Forbes in mid-May, the editorial department was working on closing its “Power Women” issue. It was a whirlwind first two weeks on the job as I assisted with finalizing the last-minute details for the magazine and preparing the website for the launch.
I work on a team with five other interns, and after closing “Power Women,” we turned our attention to Forbes’s annual “Top Colleges” list. Under the direction of our supervisor, we are currently developing new interactive features and writing articles that will appear on the website and in the magazine for our “Top Colleges” package.
My responsibilities vary greatly from day to day—which I find to be very exciting— and I feel as though I am constantly learning. One day, I might be fact-checking a story for the Forbes Asia magazine, the next, I could be putting together photo galleries to accompany stories or researching and writing my own pieces for the website.
When I began my hunt for an internship last fall, I knew that I wanted to build on my experience interning at CNBC last summer and pursue other opportunities in business journalism. Forbes immediately stood out to me because of its success navigating the changing tide of journalism in this time of reinvention in the industry.
Last January, I spoke with senior editor Kurt Badenhausen ’94 on the phone about his experience with Forbes and spent a day shadowing associate editor Steve Bertoni ’02. Soon after, I realized that Forbes was a great fit for me, and when I received the call from HR, I accepted the job on the spot.
From its personal, unique traditions to special intern events and even the occasional rooftop concert, my time at Forbes has made me feel like a valuable part of the company and a real member of its close-knit community. I feel privileged to work alongside and learn from its many distinguished and talented writers and editors.
As I enter my senior year, I know that my experiences with Forbes, CNBC, and academic-year internship with Colgate’s communications office will make me a competitive candidate when I try to break into a career in journalism after graduation. Wherever the twists and turns in my career path take me, I know I will have the Colgate community at my side encouraging, guiding, and supporting me.
Is your organization still seeking intern candidates? Staff at the Center for Career Services would be pleased to speak with you. Please call 315-228-7380 or e-mail ccs@colgate.edu.