Name: Zoe Malin

Year: Junior

Major: Journalism

Minor: Gender Studies

CFS Class: Business Field Studies

Employer: CNN

I originally planned to participate in CFS during spring 2021, but due to the remote nature of this quarter during the pandemic, I instead applied to internships on my own over the summer. Once I received an offer from CNN, I cleared the internship with CFS and enrolled in the program. I am so glad I made this decision. Interning for CNN is something I’m passionate about, and it has motivated and inspired me during this dark period. Likewise, engaging with peers through my CFS class has been wonderful. I have been able to meet new people and learn about their industries and experiences. I feel connected to my classmates – and my CNN coworkers – even over Zoom.

Of the most rewarding parts of my internship was helping cover the 2020 presidential election. Leading up to the election, I completed a research project. I gathered information about both candidates views on international policy and created a spreadsheet for news anchors and reporters to use as a reference before covering a story. When I completed the project, I sent it to my supervisor to review and she was impressed with my work. She gave me even more tasks to complete afterwards and trusted me with confidential information as well as serious topic matter. This experience built my confidence early on during my internship and pushed me to volunteer for challenging projects later on.