Ashley Nichols December 3, 2014
Self-Evaluation Intern at Silk Painters International’s Silkworm
My Role as Intern In January of this year, I was hired by Silk Painters International’s (SPIN) quarterly publication, Silkworm, to be their newest intern. In fact, I am only their second intern ever, so not only was being an intern a new experience for myself, but it was also a relatively new concept for my supervisor and editor, Tunizia Abdur-Raheem. I have since then continued my internship with them during this semester and will gladly be interning again for spring 2015. This upcoming January will mark one year working alongside Tunizia and I could not have asked for a more enriching experience. I had heard about this internship through a friend, who is also the granddaughter of SPIN’s past president, Joyce, and was Silkworm’s first intern. I was beyond grateful that she had recommended me for the position, because I was having a hard time finding an internship myself. Because this intern position was a new one, I think I was kind of used in a trial and error sort of manner, not in a bad way or anything, but it was a little bit experimental. Tunizia and I had to figure out whether communicating on the phone or email would work best for our professional relationship. We had a very difficult time contacting each other via phone; I would either be in class or have terrible service and she was usually busy running things. So, after a little while we adopted a strict email communication and it has worked out perfectly! Since then, communication has been fairly smooth, aside from our time difference (she being in California). Entering my second semester with this internship was much better than my first. The intern-editor relationship is still a work in progress, mainly on the communication front, but it gets better as time goes on and I’m sure when I continue this internship in Spring 2015 that it will do the same. However, my role is to be as helpful and receptive as can be and I do believe I did that. My editor lives in California, so there is physical distance, as well as a time difference. Because my editor, and supervisor, doesn’t live here in Tallahassee, I unfortunately had to submit my contract a little late, because she does not always remember things, but it was ok! This process alone, of getting my contract signed, took about two week of worrying but eventually everything was straightened out! Silkworm is a quarterly publication that deals with anything and everything relating to silk painting. It contains feature articles about the different SPIN members who are doing something worth spotlighting. It also keeps SPIN members up-to-date on any events or
important things they should know. It seems like it would reach a small crowd, but, to even my surprise, this magazine reaches a large number of individuals, mainly women in their older years who share a passion for silk painting. So, it was even more exciting to work with them.
What I Did
My internship for this semester started up rather quickly and I jumped in with both feet. I was immediately given a lengthy feature and a letter to the president to edit and rework into something more polished. After a few back-and-forth emails with Tunizia with different ideas and several drafts later, I was able to turn her writing into a new version that kept her original intentions for the article, but was much more refined. Not long after, I was assigned a feature piece for the next issue about SPIN’s past president Joyce Estes. It was to be about her journey to the Isle of Mann and her attendance at their local silk painting festival. Tunizia gave me a brief guideline of what was to be included and her expectations. I followed her desires as I believed she wanted. This would have been the only slight issue we had due to communication and misunderstandings. However, we did our best to work together to create the desired piece. It will be published in the upcoming issue. Soon after, Tunizia emailed me the last issue (already published now) to copyedit, and I was entirely thrilled. Editing is my stronger skillset and I had such fun spending several hours throughout many days combing through every inch of the magazine to help make it the best it could be, free of errors and layout mistakes. She was pleased with my work and will be sending me the next issue to copyedit as well. This was new from last semester, where I solely wrote and edited single articles, so it was exciting to venture onto something new.
What I Learned I learned way more than I expected! I spent four years on my high school newspaper staff, as a writer and editor, so the process of writing and editing is nothing new to me. However, I have never really branched out and written about a topic that I not only didn’t know much about, but that I had never even heard of. It was a great experience to be able to have the confidence to explore a new medium and topic, as well as to broaden my horizons. I now feel much more assertive about pursuing writing and editing opportunities about topics that are new to me. I think it’s very important to have a well-rounded knowledge and skill set, and this internship helped me gain just that. Even over two semesters of working with a topic I previously never knew of, I have been continuously meeting new silk painters and discovering a world far beyond my limited knowledge. I learned how to effectively communicate long-distance. Even though working for someone in a different state has its setbacks, it also has its perks. I was given a much longer leash to be able to create my work. If I had worked in an office, I don’t feel like my work would have been as well, especially due to my lack of knowledge about silk painting. I also learned how to interview via email, which doesn’t take much skill, but is very effective. This semester the communication seemed a little worse off than last, but I know it’s because Tunizia had her own set of things to deal with and can sometimes be forgetful, but it never came from a bad place. We will definitely work better for my internship during next semester!
I learned to have patience! I am, by nature, a relatively patient person, but within this internship my patience was definitely tested. There were times when I had a deadline to reach and no one would respond to any of my emails and I had to scramble to get work done. It ended up that my deadlines were more of a suggestive than strict, so it was ok, but I didn’t want to keep my editor waiting.
My Strengths and Weaknesses I believe my strengths for this internship were both writing and editing. Editing is a skill that comes much easier, so I was able to sharpen it and just had fun doing it. I do believe I am an adequate writer and can write eloquently, so fortunately it wasn’t so bad. However, my weakness was my initial lack of knowledge. I, as mentioned before, had to do extensive research before I could even begin my work. Now, I can happily say that this weakness is now a strength!
My Overall Experience
I have been beyond blessed with this internship and I am so grateful that Tunizia and Silkworm gave me the opportunity to work with them! I had been so lost in the internship process and I really didn’t know what I was supposed to be doing. Fortunately, my friend had guided me towards this one and the experience has been priceless. The relationship that has blossomed between Tunizia and I has become priceless, one I genuinely cherish. She has unknowingly given me guidance throughout my internship with her and just through our emails has given some really great advice. Through my almost one year internship with the Silkworm, I have already met so many wonderful and king women that have given me such encouragement that I can’t be anything but blessed. I really was challenged to learn something new and how to transfer my writing skills over to a new platform as well. Writing articles for newspapers and magazines are fairly similar, so the formatting was easy enough. It was such a pleasure being able to edit! Some people like surfing or shopping, I love reading, writing and editing! It was also so much fun to be given the responsibility of copyediting, I absolutely loved it! To be able to combine my three biggest passions into an internship has been so wonderful. Aside from the rocky communication, I can say that I have enjoyed working with Silkworm as their intern and that they have enjoyed having me as well. I am also so thrilled to be returning again next semester their intern again! I am glad to have been given the opportunity to work with Tunizia! She is such a kind woman and has given me the chance to truly expand my skills. She gave me the same responsibilities that she gives her other staff members, so it was really great to be treated as an equal. She didn’t care that I am younger, but rather she appreciated my opinions, edits and advice and she actually listened to them. It’s really empowering to have someone like her appreciate and thank me for my work. I can happily end this semester’s internship on a positive note. I have sharpened my skills, learned new things and have been challenged to grow as a writer and editor. I have gained new friends and professional connections. I have created and accomplished work that I am genuinely proud of and can use for my professional portfolio for future job applications. I have been faced with many challenges but have also enjoyed so many wonderful experiences.
All-in-all, this internship with Silkworm has been so wonderful and I can’t wait to return to it next semester!