Smith_Morgan 2016 by Renee Burke

MORGAN SMITH

・c: 407-405-7342

t: @morgsmith8 ・ e: morgansmith1008@gmail.com ・ w: morgangracesmith.wordpress.com

May 12, 2016 Joanna Coles Editor in Chief Cosmopolitan magazine 300 W. 57th St. New York, NY 10019 Dear Mrs. Coles, The Cosmopolitan publication is the best-selling young women's magazine in the United States. I appreciate the dedication and hard work you and your staff members put into each edition and I would like to apply for an internship position. I would like the chance to contribute my copy editing skills and ability to participate as part of a journalism staff to influence future editions. I already have two years of experience as a copy editor for two national award winning yearbooks and I am confident and timeefficient in my grading and deadline abilities. During my years as the Legend copy editor, I improved my own writing as well as the writing of the staff. My knowledge for AP Style expanded and I strengthened my time management skills, as I had to grade other’s spreads as well as execute my own. As an intern, I would be able to positively influence the staff with confidence in my writing skills alongside my knowledge of how a publication functions. Even though the requirements of my desired position will be overwhelming, I am highly capable of completing my work and staying proactive for future deadlines. As a copy editor, I often helped my staffers who were struggling push through their obstacles as well as those who needed a fresh perspective or guidance on their spreads. I appreciate you considering me for the internship and I feel that a look at my portfolio and website could properly display my potential to you. I will contact you within the week to discuss your decision. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Respectfully yours, Morgan Smith

Enclosed: resume

・c: 407-405-7342

t: @morgsmith8 ・ e: morgansmith1008@gmail.com ・ w: morgangracesmith.wordpress.com

OBJECTIVE To become skilled at leading and motivating my peers through encouragement, critiques and solutions to increase ・efficiency while gaining real-world experience. EDUCATION Completed four years at William R. Boone High School. Graduation date: May 31, 2016. University of Florida fall 2016. GPA 4.98 weighted; 4.0 unweighted. Valedictorian. Top 1.7% of class. EXPERIENCE Legend Yearbook, William R. Boone High School Aug. 2014-2016. Copy editor. Write in-depths, profiles, body copy, captions, sport wrap-ups; grade staffer layouts, captions and body copy; edit and correct proofs to meet publisher deadlines; assist staffers with copy. Aug. 2013-2014. Staffer. Write body copy and captions, take and edit photographs to place on layout, interview teachers and students, meet deadlines, work in Adobe Photoshop and InDesign and Bridge. CERTIFICATIONS Adobe Photoshop CS6 Industry Certified- 2014 Adobe InDesign Industry Certified- 2015 Manager assistant at Orlando Eyecare - medical practice experience Check patients’ visual acuity, eye pressure and work auto-refractor; place orders for frames, cases and contact lenses; price frames; write blogs for the office website; contact patients to pick up glasses. Volleyball head coach and trainer 2013-2015. Head coach of The Christ School’s undefeated fifth grade spring team; organized practices, instructed and coached 11 girls; ran clinics, tryouts and practices for fourth-eighth graders. RELEVANT HIGH SCHOOL COURSES Journalism I, VI, V and VIII honors; English I, II and III Honors; Advanced Placement English Literature HONORS, AWARDS AND MEMBERSHIPS Valedictorian 2016 Homecoming Queen 2015 All-Metro Scholar Athlete of the Year 2015- Awarded to one girls volleyball player in the region for outstanding academics as an athlete. Volleyball team member- 2013-2016. Three years on varsity at Boone High School. “Defensive Player of the Year” award for my junior and senior year school seasons as the libero. National Honor Society member- 2014- present. A group that recognizes outstanding academics, leadership and service. Quill and Scroll International Journalism Honor Society member- 2015-2016. Yearbook Writer of the Year- 2014-2015. Exemplary writing skills as an editor that contributed to the yearbook Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Crown- National Award for the 2014 and 2015 Legend Yearbooks National Scholastic Press Association Pacemaker- National Award for the 2014 and 2015 Legend Yearbooks National Scholastic Press Association Best of Show (336+ pages)- Fall and spring conferences for 2015 Legend Yearbook Florida Scholastic Press Association- All-Florida for Profile on Kian Garcia (largest written category, 95 entries) REFERENCES Renée Burke: William R. Boone H.S., yearbook adviser, 407-443-8451 Mary Canfield: Orlando Eyecare, office manager, 407-295-1234 (office phone) Jenn Hedger: Orlando Volleyball Academy, club volleyball coach, 727-501-4208

SELF-ANALYSIS

Looking back on my two years as the Legend yearbook copy editor, I am amazed at how my writing has evolved. Not only did I improve my own writing skills from choppy and scattered to eloquent pieces that followed my angle, but I also guided my staffers in their growth. By keeping an eye out for passive voice verbs, incomplete thoughts, factual quotes and awkward transitions, I helped to increased the sophistication of the publicationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body copy and captions. This year was easier for me in the sense that I already had a year of experience as a copy editor, and I was already comfortable with Associated Press style. However, when I became one of 13 editors, as opposed to one of four the previous year, I felt there was a lack of communication between the section editors, the staffers and me. Since I no longer approved body copy angles on story planners, I would often walk around the room to make sure each staffer was comfortable with the direction in which they were taking their story. This ensured that we were on the same page, and that no one accidentally repeated angles from the 2015 book. Deadline four was a very stressful time for me. I had multiple folders to be graded for body/captions and majors, proofs from deadline three, and I had to completely research and rewrite an in-depth on sleep deprivation. I sacrificed time and sleep to make sure my staffersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; folders did not get stuck in a holding pattern, section editors received proofs to make their edits, and that there was an 1100 word in-depth to place next to a fabulous infographic. The proofs alone required ten hours of my weekend to edit which embodies my dedication to the publication. My goal is to win a Gold Crown and a Pacemaker for each book to which I contribute. So far, I am two for two in each competition, and I believe this book is capable of winning both national awards as well. Last year, I had more responsibility to fix proofs because we did not have section editors so this year was less time consuming in that aspect. However, since I knew what I was doing as a second-year copy editor, I graded more strictly because I knew what should be expected of Legend staffers. This meant I resubbed stories more often than last year until they reached their full potential. I did not design anything this year, but I stepped up the sophistication of my writing and editing which is apparent in the writing section of my portfolio. My deadlines this year were important profiles and an in-depth because I am capable of writing lengthy copy. I will use these skills for college essays as well as my future career, whether it is peer editing my colleagues or writing for a medical journal. Scholastic journalism prepared me for meeting deadlines, picking up the slack when my co-workers fall short, and being a proactive leader to accomplish a common goal.

REFLECTION #1

My most significant piece this year was my research-based in-depth on the issues of sleep deprivation. After a staffer failed to complete his deadline, the 1100 word story became my responsibility along with the section editor. Less than a week away from the ship date, the section editor and I had to rally together to figure out a game plan for taking over the page. Since I was not informed on the issue, I had to conduct hours of my own research before I could even begin a basic outline of the story. Once I educated myself on the effects of sleep deprivation, I Facetimed the section editor for at least two hours. We dissected the interviews and pulled out the quotes we needed, collaborated on our individual research findings, then proceeded to write transitions. This in-depth was the first research-based story I have written, so it was interesting to compare it to my experiences with regular content pages. It was challenging to keep from editorializing and report facts rather than tell an emotional story with an angle. I really like the finished product because it is very informative to my peers, as well as to myself, who struggle with sleep deprivation.

REFLECTION #2

I would like this in-depth to represent me because it presents facts while keeping the reader interested. Because it is a lengthy story, and was the first research-based story I have written, it was challenging to organize my thoughts and make the story flow while keeping it factual. I believe I integrated the quotes into my research smoothly which makes it easier to read.

This was my favorite profile and it was one of the first spreads in the book. It not only tells the story of Kianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s positivity, but it also provides background information of how he began dropping notes and why he pushes trash cans around the lunch room. The environmental portrait is a dramatic black and white that draws attention to the story, and then the story keeps the reader on the page.

push it to the limit. In his Naval Science one class on Dec. 18, freshman Phillip Faria does as many push-ups as he

can with his feet elevated on a tire. “I kept telling myself, don’t stop, don’t stop, you need to keep going,” Faria said.

The emotion of the boy in this picture captures the intensity of the NJROTC workout. The boy is the center of visual interest and follows the rule of thirds. It also possesses repetition because the boys around him are lined up doing push ups too. I shot this when it was starting to rain, you can see puddles on the ground, and I am glad I braved the elements because the emotion in the picture was worth the frizzy hair.

WRITING

✓ writing ☐ photography ☐ captions what’s mine: ☐ I take great pride in this profile because it is one of the first pages in the book and tells the story of Kian and his optimistic outlook on life. He has told me multiple times how grateful he is that I wrote about him and that he "cannot believe how big his story has gotten."

✓ writing ☐ photography ☐ captions what’s mine: ☐ This community section profile is a great representation of the support that Boone receives from the community. Mrs. McClane's selflessness made for an inspiring story and I thoroughly enjoyed her interviews and learning about her accomplishments as Boone Foundation's president.

what’s mine: ☐ writing ☐ photography ☐ captions This sleep deprivation in-depth required me to incorporate research into the 1100 word story. I had to write this story with the academics editor in a few days after a staffer fell behind. I conducted my own research and produced the longest story I had ever written.

✓ writing ☐ photography ☐ captions what’s mine: ☐ The baseball body copy was a mess that could not be fixed even with multiple resubs. After the staffers on the page missed deadline, the sports editor and I took over the copy and re-interviewed and re-wrote the story. We came up with a stronger angle, got more emotional quotes, then wrote copy that told the story of the season.

PHOTOGRAPHY

push it to the limit. In his