Job & Internship

April Internship Spotlight

Name: Amy Upah
Major: Jl MC
Emphasis: Public Relations
Company: WGN Chicago

Most Memorable Experience: Almost everyone that knows me well knows what a crazed fan I am of the Chicago Cubs, so when I was hired as a creative services intern at WGN (whose owner, the Tribune Company, owns the Cubs) to do Cubs television promotions, I was ecstatic.

My slightly intimidating boss, Kyle, was both amused and impressed at my knowledge of baseball, but he still wanted me to start slowly by writing voice-overs in appropriate baseball lingo. After writing what felt like a million voice-overs, he finally let me help him put together a small 15 second game promotion. My enthusiasm was evident so he slowly gave me more responsibility until I was creating the promos by myself.

One day he came into my little "office" space to tell me there had been an issue with filming a charity promotion at Wrigley field and we would have to do the filming of the Cubs players on Wrigley field! When that glorious day came, I got to walk through the Cubs dugout, onto the field during batting practice and meet the Cubs players (and hold the cue cards).

Special Contribution: Last summer at WGN was the launch of the new CW, the combination network of UPN and the WB. WGN was the Chicagoland area's WB; therefore, Andrew Lennie, a creative service specialist, was put to the task of creating brand recognition for the CW. He decided to start with the fun technique of man-on-the-street interviews. Andrew asked me if I would like to help.

I went, with a crew of four, to several locations in Chicago. We went to Michigan Ave., Millennium Park, the Cell (White Sox stadium), a south-side mall, an old-town park, and many more sites, all the time, I was in charge of looking for the most outrageous, cute and "suitable" people to interview.

I asked each person if they knew or would guess what "CW" meant and I received some very entertaining answers. The next question was whether he/she was a fan of the shows on the CW. There were people who could quote entire monologues of characters!

This experience showed me another side of Chicago and video production. I also learned a thing or two about brand recognition and public relations. Through this collaboration between Andrew and me, came camaraderie. I began to eat lunch with the "boys," other creative service employees, and before I knew it I was playing softball with them on Monday nights!

Advice to Future Interns: Don't be afraid to apply for any and all interesting internships! Do something out of your comfort zone and have fun; it's a chance to figure out what it is you want to do!

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