3/7/13
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Nadeen Yanes and Jessica Guerin '13 |
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“After I visited the campus a few times, I realized that Randolph-Macon College was the place for me,” says
Jessica Guerin ’13, a Midlothian, Virginia native. “Now I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. I always tell people that R-MC is nothing that I thought I wanted at first but everything I needed. I thought I wanted a big school far from home, but after I took a
campus tour, I knew I wanted to be a Yellow Jacket.”
Hands-on Experience Guerin, a
sociology and
women’s studies major and
film studies minor, recently completed a January Term (
J-term)
internship at ABC/WRIC TV8 in Richmond, Virginia.
Under the guidance of Nadeen Yanes, a video journalist at WRIC, Guerin attended meetings, offered story ideas and helped secure interviews. She also learned firsthand the finer points of interviewing, filming, and editing.
“It was a great opportunity to work on my filming and camera skills,” says Guerin. “Internships are important because it’s one thing to do well in the classroom but the working world is a whole different ball game.”
The Importance of Mentorship “Every news story and every interview is different,” says Yanes. “Learning how to communicate with interviewees and set up appointments is something you only learn by doing. I had Jessie work on communicating with interviewees to make them comfortable enough to go on camera. She also helped with research and dug a little deeper for information to make our stories even better.”
Major Decisions Guerin chose to major in sociology after taking Sociology Professor Denise Bissler’s Deviant Behavior and Social Control course. The course explores behavior that violates norms and mechanisms of social control and implications of these for social policy.
“I loved everything about it, from the readings to the lectures,” says Guerin. “Professor Bissler is my advisor and I love working with her. She really pushes me in class and makes me work for every grade I get—but that gives me a real sense of accomplishment.”
A course taught by Anthropology and Women's Studies Professor Debra Rodman prompted Guerin to choose her second major, women’s studies.
“She’s a tough instructor too but I love that,” says Guerin. “I like being challenged, and when I get a good grade from my professors I know I have really earned it.”
Finding The EDGE Guerin, who is very active with
campus organizations—Relay for Life and Delta Zeta are just two of her favorites—takes advantage of many of the programs offered by
The EDGE, within the
Center for Personal and Career Development.
“I especially enjoy the programs that center on networking,” she says. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of alumni, and they have been very helpful in giving me career advice. R-MC offers so many opportunities. I recently attended
Boot Camp, which was offered by
The EDGE, and it was a great experience.”
Internships Internships are just one of the opportunities offered by
The Randolph-Macon EDGE. Within the Center for Personal and Career Development,
The EDGE is a four-year program designed to help students identify their career passions, compete for meaningful employment and apply to graduate schools.
For 30 years, R-MC’s
Bassett Internship Program has been successfully placing students in internships both in the U.S. and around the globe. Coordinated with the Center for Personal and Career Development, the Bassett Internship Program works closely with students to help identify their interests and match them with an appropriate internship opportunity. Randolph-Macon’s
alumni provide a strong network of support for students throughout their time at the college or in assisting them after graduation with career direction and opportunities.
Students may choose to pursue academic, paid, or volunteer internships in a wide variety of settings; recent internships have seen R-MC students gaining valuable knowledge and experience in fields including health care, finance, non-profit, communications and media, education, politics and law, and the arts.