August 30, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Six Alaska Youth Go to Work at Fair During One-Day Internship
On Friday, August 29, six Alaska youth took advantage of the opportunity to hang with a freelance photographer, produce a radio story, interact with the media, film with a Web cam, capture events on video, and learn about crowd management during a youth internship at the Alaska State Fair. The one-day internship, which coincided with Wells Fargo Youth Day and was presented by Wells Fargo and the Fair, paired a youth participant with a seasoned professional for a real-life, hands-on experience at the Fair.
“We wanted to give Alaska youth the opportunity to team up with a professional for an authentic ‘day in the life’ of a job at the Fair,” said Jeanette Gardiner, Fair marketing and development assistant, as well as one of the participating mentors.
Earlier this summer, dozens of young Alaskans ages 16 – 20 applied for internship opportunities in the areas of photography, video production and editing, media/public relations, security/crowd management, radio production, and Web site design. Youth selected for this year’s internship positions included:
- Kayla McGraw, photography intern. McGraw, 16, lives in Wasilla, where she is a junior at Twindly Bridge Charter School. A past winner in the Fair’s digital photography competition, McGraw is interested in going to film school or majoring in English.
- Elizabeth Jennings, video production/editing intern. Jennings, an 18-year-old from Delta Junction, was known as “the girl with the video camera” throughout high school. She now attends Pensacola Christian College in Florida, where she plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in commercial writing.
- Abigail Deal, media/public relations intern. Deal, of Wasilla, is a 16-year-old junior at Colony High School. After graduating, she hopes to pursue a journalism degree at Western Washington University and eventually become a photo journalist.
- Hannah Knapp, security/crowd management intern. Knapp, a 16-year-old who lives in Big Lake and attends Twindly Bridge Charter School, applied for the internship to gain experience that will benefit her involvement with the local youth court, as well as her future career.
- Javon Johnson, radio production intern. Johnson, a 17-year-old from Anchorage, is involved with Alaska Teen Media Institute, where he hosted a radio show and produced a story earlier this summer.
- Andrew Neuerburg, Web site design intern. Neuerburg, of Anchorage, will graduate this year from Lumen Christi High School. In the future, he may attend college and hopes to become a business owner.
On Friday, these six youth interns spent the day working one-on-one with professionals, including freelance photographer Clark James Mishler; Rosey Robards, director of the Alaska Teen Media Institute; Jeanette Gardiner, Fair marketing and development assistant; Jarod Brownson, owner of Brownson Enterprises; Brian Mead of RE Marketing Video Production; and Randy Scott, director of operations for Starplex Corporation.
“Students at the Alaska Teen Media Institute always talk about wanting to do stories at the Fair. I thought this would be a good opportunity for teens to show off their journalism skills at a large event. I would hope that my intern develops a confidence in his ability to communicate with people from the community and tell their stories on-air,” said mentor Rosey Robards, who worked with her intern, Javon Johnson, to produce a radio story about the Fair to air on KNBA.
For more information, including intern biographies and photos, visit www.alaskastatefair.org. Or contact Jeanette Gardiner, Fair marketing and development assistant, at 907.746.7164 or jeanette@alaskastatefair.org.