Organization name: Saint George’s School
Contact name & title: John Carter, Director of Communications
Name & title of person who would serve as mentor for the intern:
John Carter, Director of Communications
Street Address: 2929 W. Waikiki Rd.
City, State, Zip: Spokane, WA 99208
Phone: 509-464-8818
E-mail address: john.carter@sgs.org
Web site address: www.sgs.org
Compensation: No compensation; this internship would be for academic credit only.
Description of organization:
Saint George’s School is a private, independent, college-prep day school. Located on the Little Spokane River just 3 miles from the Whitworth campus, the school’s 120-acre campus provides a rich learning environment for 385 students in grades K-12. Saint George’s outstanding teachers inspire student scholars, athletes and artists to serve and lead others.
Duties and activities an intern could expect during the internship:
Fall and winter/spring are busy seasons for events and projects at Saint George’s, so an intern will have the opportunity to explore a variety of engaging activities.
1. Writing – The intern will gather information and write brief news articles for weekly parent newsletter; write news releases to the media; draft text for online ads and Facebook postings; edit letters and documents from other departments; and interview and write feature articles for SG Magazine.
2. Photography – The intern will take photos and/or shoot video of school activities in classroom, theater, outdoor and athletic settings; sort photos and use PhotoShop to prepare them for posting on the school website; and edit video for website or admissions marketing uses.
3. Design – The intern will design infographics, yearbook layouts, and a variety of print publications from postcards to major admissions brochures.
4. Publications – The intern will gather information and images to create or update existing publications, including pages of the SG Magazine, admissions brochures, the student yearbook, and publications for major events.
5. Website Management – The intern will learn to use the content management system for the school’s website; create website pages and update text and images on existing pages; and prepare newsletters for email distribution.
6. Social Media – The intern will manage one or more Facebook pages and an Instagram account; post news, photos and links on a regular basis; and recommend ways to increase their value to the school and its audiences.
7. Admissions Marketing – The intern will participate in Admissions marketing strategy sessions; help promote summer programs and camps; and assist with developing, redesigning or updating admissions marketing materials such as brochures, flyers, videos and online or print ads.
8. Event Promotion – The intern will be involved in planning for the school’s spring fundraising event and take an important role in preparing publications, promoting the event through social media, and helping in all aspects of the event.
9. Everything Else – The intern will participate in school events; assist the associate director for communications in media relations; and help respond to requests from faculty, staff and parents.
Special projects an intern would be able to see through to completion:
An intern will work on several projects that could provide good materials for a portfolio.
1. Magazine Features – The intern would create at least one feature article in the twice-yearly Saint George’s Magazine, including interviews, writing, editing, selecting and preparing photos, and creating the layout.
2. Website Updates – The intern would be involved in the process of updating the school’s website, including editing text, selecting and sizing photos, and posting new content on the school website’s pages.
3. Other Projects – Depending on the intern’s design ability and the dates of their internship, they could create yearbook layouts, videos, photos galleries, ads and/or brochures. Specific projects would be identified at the start of the internship to meet the student’s portfolio needs.
Space and equipment needed to complete these duties and projects:
A desk, computer, phone and camera are available in the Communications Office for this intern to use.
Value of an internship with our organization:
Saint George’s has a classic “small shop” non-profit communications office, so the variety of projects and the opportunity for an intern to learn new skills is almost endless. Writing for different audiences, taking photos and video that show students learning, exploring how the back-end of a complex website works, managing Facebook pages to build community, helping in event planning and execution, and creating admissions materials that communicate facts in an attractive way — it’s all part of what we do. This is a great place for a creative, energetic college student to discover the breadth of communication and marketing activities in an educational setting during our busy fall and winter/spring seasons.
The mentor for this intern has over 30 years of experience in educational and corporate marketing and communications. He has hosted Whitworth University student interns each year since 2011 (so knows what kind of internship would be valuable for a college student) and could really use some help telling the story of “the best school in Spokane” to Saint George’s internal and external audiences.
Qualifications desired in an intern candidate:
The ideal intern for this position will be comfortable working with adults and children and desires to experience the demands and rewards of working for a small non-profit or educational organization. Specific qualifications include:
1. Energetic, teachable, and flexible attitude with ability to take direction and work independently.
2. Ability to write both in straight-forward news style and to craft an interesting feature article.
3. Interest in taking photos and/or shooting video to tell a story.
4. Design and layout ability is a plus but not required.
5. Fluency with social media and demonstrated ability to learn new computer programs (familiarity with InDesign and PhotoShop is helpful but not required).
6. Ability to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
Internship dates and hours:
The specific dates of the internship will be determined by the student and Saint George’s School. Desired start date would be the second week of February 2019, with the spring semester internship running until early May 2019. Student internships can be arranged for just one semester or for the full year. These dates allow an intern to experience a variety of activities over the course of the school year and to be involved through much of the spring semester. We recognize that the intern’s available hours and days will vary and the school can work around their schedule. An intern should be able to work between 10 – 15 hours per week, mostly from Monday – Friday during the morning or afternoon with an occasional evening or weekend event. Some students have chosen to split up an internship between Jan Term (1 credit) and the Spring Semester (2 credits). Saint George’s can work with students on hours and projects for this option as well.
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