MEDIAWORKS 2019: EXTERNSHIP @ EXELON
Tahir Juba (left) and Mark Colegrove on location at BGE's Front Street service center.
This summer, Wide Angle Productions Producer, Tahir, completed a summer externship with Exelon’s Creative Media department. This was a 40 hour/week paid position that runs from June through August as part of Exelon’s summer intern program. Tahir, a Senior at Morgan State, has been with Wide Angle Youth Media since 2013. This post includes reflections from Tahir and Mark Colegrove, Video Producer at Exelon who worked with Tahir this summer.
“My experience interning with Exelon's Creative Media Department this summer has been really fulfilling, especially since I am exploring career options in the media industry. As an intern, you wouldn't necessarily expect to be doing actual work, but there wasn't a day this summer that I didn't have an actual client project to work on. Most of the time, I was editing projects that I had sole responsibility for, which was really good for me because I got to work on client communication and my editing speed. My title was an intern but I was treated like a full-time employee - which is good. I think they saw my skill and trusted my ability to work on projects on my own, which was a really good feeling and allows me to feel more confident when going into the workforce. This truly gave me insight on what it's like working in media for a large corporation like Exelon and I'm glad the work wasn't sugar coated or cut down for me because now I can consider working for a corporation in the future while knowing what to expect. The work environment was really relaxed as well, which is something I always appreciate when thinking of workplace culture. There were games of putt-putt in the office, lunch trips to some food spots I've never been to before, and ping pong matches. Those activities beyond just working helped me feel more comfortable in the environment. Coming from Wide Angle Productions where things are more casual, I wasn't quite used to being in a corporate, business casual workplace, but after a couple weeks I began enjoying wearing collared shirts tucked into my pants.”
-Tahir
The following remarks are from Mark Colegrove, Video Producer at Exelon who worked with Tahir this summer.
What initially blew us away when he applied was his demo reel. The average intern demo reel usually features a smattering of student films and personal projects, but Tahir’s reel also featured work for major clients that he’d already worked with as part of Wide Angle Productions. In particular, he had produced an eye-catching video for Outward Bound. Ironically, our department had produced our own stories over the years with Outward Bound as well - teams from Constellation and Exelon regularly volunteer and give back there. Since Tahir was already telling the sorts of stories we tell, the fit seemed natural.
We always say that interns can get as much out of their internship as they’re willing to put in. It goes beyond “making copies” and “getting coffee.” We expect our interns to be self-starters, capable of working in a similar capacity that our full-time staff does, and Tahir did not disappoint. Over the course of the summer he worked on several projects for BGE and Constellation, both in a shooting and editing capacity. We were able to trust him with a lot – I knew that if I was traveling throughout the week on a series of shoots, I could leave a couple memory cards back at the office for Tahir, and he could take what I had shot, and transform it into a complete story in the editing room with minimal direction. This is what Wide Angle had prepared him for, and we learned quickly we can trust him to see things to completion.
One of my favorite experiences with Tahir was traveling together up to USciences in Philadelphia where we shot a social media profile piece with a girls STEM camp that had received a funding grant from Constellation. There was a lot to shoot, so we decided to “divide and conquer.” While I worked on shooting the interviews, Tahir was on his own getting some b-roll. I took a look over his shoulder once or twice, and what I saw was expertly composed, engaging, and moving. His talent and his eye for composition was immediately apparent. It became clear right away that as long as I got some good interviews, he had everything else covered. In the week that followed, Tahir took care of all the editing on the project, and interfacing with the client, and it will be making its debut on Constellation’s social media channels soon!
It’s been a busy and productive summer at Exelon, and our team is already wondering how we’ll fill the void when Tahir goes back to school in a couple weeks. We’re already looking forward to our next collaboration with an intern from Wide Angle Youth Media!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hannah Shaw is the Communications Specialist at WAYM. She is a multidisciplinary designer and received her BS in Marketing from UMD and MA in Social Design from MICA.