Name: Rhoda Akua Ameyaa
Class Year: 2022
Major: Literatures in English with a concentration in Creative Writing
Hometown: Sunyani, Ghana
Internship Organization: The Blak Lotus
Job Title: Staff Writer Intern
Location: Remote
Award: Bryn Mawr College Internship Fund
What’s happening at your internship?
I work three days a week between 12 and 5 p.m. When I log in to the company workspace, I first check in with the editor-in-chief, who is my supervisor, to let her know what I’ll be researching and writing about. At the end of the research, I start drafting my piece to be submitted to the publication. The editors edit the draft further to make it ready for publishing. The article(s) are then published on the company’s Medium website and other platforms. At the end of every week interns have a meeting with some of the full-time staff to catch up and ask questions. We also receive feedbacks on our works.
Why did you apply for this internship?
I visualized it to be a chance to write beyond the scope of academic papers. I was drawn by the fact that the publication is Black-owned and prioritizes writing and representing stories revolving around Black lives. I am thankful that this internship has given me a chance to contextualize how my identity as a Black woman intersects with my passions for literature production and eye health. I’ve looked at the media as a bystander and have criticized a lot of articles, but now I am part of the media. That helps me find ways to connect my identity with my education and altogether write powerful opinionated articles.
Was there anything special about how you found this internship?
I guess the most special aspect of finding this internship was how quick my interview was. The interview was less than five minutes long, and I beat myself down for doing poorly and not impressing the interviewer. I was wrong! She loved the interview and decided to proceed to other steps.
What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?
I’ve been surprised by how much learning I do in the process of writing my articles. Writing my academic papers in school normally begins with me gathering resources, making a bibliography, and finally putting up a thesis statement on which all my arguments depend. Here, I mostly couple the researching with writing since I’m mostly drafting. I worry less about getting it right the first time and instead focus more on what I want to put across in my writing. I insert hyperlinks to help direct readers to topics I feel I cannot explain well enough with the resources I gathered. It’s almost as if I have my own group of proofreaders who help me construct concise and well-organized articles. Here, I don’t only choose what I write about but also what form I write it in. This has been pivotal to my experience, and I barely expected it to be this way!
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.