Second annual Internship Forum at University of Cincinnati

 

You probably haven't heard of Rachel Tracy or Willie Faison, but it might
not be long before they're household names.

Tracy, 19, of Anderson Township, is a Miami University sophomore who's ultimate career goal is being an anchorperson with Fox News and a White House correspondent.

Faison, 40, a Mount Auburn resident, currently is a student at the Ohio Center for Broadcasting and wants to own his own radio station and help put people to work.

What do these two have in common?

Both were part of the second annual Internship Forum Saturday at the University of Cincinnati.

It was sponsored by the UC Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and the Greater Cincinnati SPJ Pro Chapter.

Twenty-five students from eight universities and colleges had opportunities to interview with 10 organizations seeking interns.

Participating were the UC News Record, UC College of Nursing, UC Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine, Cincy Magazine, CityBeat, Cincinnati Refined Magazine, Street Vibes and F&W Media.

Tracy grew up watching television news and has an infatuation with wanting to get the truth out to the public.

After graduating from Glen Este High School, she enrolled at Miami University in Oxford and immediately began taking the steps needed to reach her goal.

Her major is political science, but she's active with the Miami Student newspaper as its culture reporter and anchors for Miami Television News.

She also interns with the Miami Trademark and Licensing Department where her focus is social media.

After graduating from Aiken High School, Faison joined the Job Corps and spent years working in construction throughout Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.

Two auto accidents, one in 1996 and the other in 2012, produced a disability that forced him to retool his life and career plans.

That's when he enrolled in the Ohio Center for Broadcasting to focus on web design and animation.

He's working on an animated cartoon, writing a script for a film or television movie and has an application in with the Federal Communications Commission for a low power radio station.

"I want to do things," he said. "I'm very enterprising."

He's also motivated to find a way to support his 15-year-old son.

Companies interested in being part of the third annual Internship Forum should e-mail Jenny Wohlfarth at Jenny.Wohlfarth@uc.edu.