top of page

My Practicum Experience: Editorial Intern at the Legacy Research Group 

INFORMATION ABOUT MY PRACTICUM:

WHAT I DID FOR MY PRACTICUM:

  • For my practicum, I was an editorial intern for the Legacy Research Group, a financial research firm and publishing company.

  • In this internship, I was tasked with various responsibilities in helping the company publish new financial articles. The finance articles that the company published included topics such as: investing, stock market trends, and basic financial advice. I edited, proofread, and sometimes even wrote many of these articles for the company; these articles had a global subscriber base of over two million readers. I did this for the company’s daily, weekly, and monthly publications. Some of the articles I worked on were only a short few pages while others ranged up to thirty pages.

  • While fixing grammatical and spelling mistakes was important for my job, double checking stock and portfolio performance data was just as important. To do this, I had to do a lot of financial research.

  • Additionally, I helped the company organize their website and database. This was an important task as some technical difficulties messed up much of the company’s website and archives. In this role, I refreshed outdated content on the website, researching and editing archived articles and content. I rewrote article headlines and blurbs as needed, and added appropriate photos and captions to these old articles as well.

​

​

 

 

HOW I FOUND MY PRACTICUM:

  • Due to COVID-19, I struggled to find an internship for the summer of 2021, and I was ready to give up looking. All of the places I had applied to told me that they weren't accepting interns at that time due to the fear of having in-person interactions. Additionally, these internship employers told me that they were not doing virtual internships either. 

  • I really found my practicum with my mom's help. My family members knew that I was struggling to find a summer internship so they asked friends of theirs if they knew of any open and suitable internships for me. One day, my mom informed me that one of her friends had told her that her company was actively looking for interns. This company, the Legacy Research Group, was looking for college interns who have an interest in finance, psychology, and writing. This criteria fit me perfectly so I applied for the job.

  • I emailed the manager for the company about my interest in the internship position, and sent in my resume as well. Following this, I had an interview over the phone and took a proofreading and editing test. A few weeks later, I accepted my offer for the internship.

​

ADVISE TO FUTURE MEDIA SCHOLARS LOOKING FOR A PRACTICUM SITE:

  • For your practicum, you should do something that interests you. The practicum allows for so many options - study abroad, internship, research project, class - which enables everyone to find the practicum that is right for them. 

    • Reflect on what country you have always been interested in living in, or what seemingly obscure class UMD has to offer that interests you, or what job you think will help you further your progress in building your resume while giving you career experience.

  • Once you have all that figured out, it is time to apply for your practicum.

    • This can be as simple as registering for a specific UMD class.

    • However, doing something such as an internship will require a more lengthy application process.

  • From my experience, in getting an internship, you have to do a lot of research to find the right one for you. Once you find the specific internship that you want, you likely need to send in your resume, application, and set up an interview.

    • ​Contacting a supervisor may seem scary but it is not as hard as it seems. To show your genuine interest in the internship position, you should send an email to the supervisor. This email should allow you to introduce yourself, briefly explain your job qualifications, and thank them for their time and interest in your application. 

      • ​Contacting a supervisor shows your commitment to the job, which will likely help you secure the internship. 

leggroup.png
slack.png

IMPACT OF MY PRACTICUM:

WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY PRACTICUM:

  • I learned so many valuable things from my practicum!

    • I learned how to manage my time better

      • I juggled many assignments and deadlines, and it was hard for me to balance everything I had to do​

      • I learned how to prioritize things by making a schedule so that I can visualize everything that has to get done, and to understand when all my assignments are due 

    • I learned how to write, edit, and proofread articles better

      • I wrote, edited, and proofread so many articles! This gave me a lot of practice in this field, and I continually caught and fixed more grammatical and spelling mistakes, as I progressed throughout my internship 

      • Writing and editing for a financial publishing company ​has made me more aware of what readers are looking for when they read

      • My experience has allowed me to understand that companies have a specific way they want their articles to be written

    • I learned more about finance, stocks, and investing 

      • In order to craft publishable financial articles, I had to learn more about the business industry 

      • I did lots of research on finance-related matters, stock trends, and investment tips, in order to properly write and edit the articles

      • I now have a more well-rounded business education ​​​

    • I learned how to foster and maintain relationships with others in a workplace setting

      • I had to communicate and compromise my ideas with other people, an important skill for future workplace settings 

      • I learned how to create friends at work, while also being professional in a workplace setting 

    • I learned how media plays a vital role in a financial publishing company  

      • My internship could not have happened without media, as it played an integral role

        • Publishing:

          • As a publishing company, the Legacy Research ​Group used other news sources, articles, and books, which are all forms of media, to gather financial, stock, and investing information in order to publish their own content

          • The fact that the company published articles online that are accessible to millions, makes the articles part of the media

          • Like other mainstream media news sources, the Legacy Research Group has to edit and proofread their content 

        • ​Communication:

          • Employees communicated with each other through email and messaging apps such as Slack​, forms of media 

 

 

 

​

​​​

slack.png
slacklegpic.png
emaillegpic.png

GOING FORWARD:

HOW I CAN APPLY MY PRACTICUM EXPERIENCE TO MY LIFE/CAREER MOVING FORWARD:

  • I feel that I learned a lot over my practicum experience and I plan to use what I learned moving forward

    • Applying my practicum to my life:​

      • I learned how to work well and get along with others in the workplace. I learned how to do this even when I was under intense pressure and frustration. I plan to continue being nice to others, and forming friendships along the way, even under moments of stress. 

      • Another part of my practicum experience that I plan to apply is my newfound time management skills. Prior to this internship, I got very overwhelmed when I had a lot of tasks to complete, and would spend time stressing about what to do next, rather than just doing the work itself. My internship experience taught me how to organize my assignments, and write out a schedule for what tasks I must complete. I plan to use this time management strategy as I continue through various time-crunching tasks later in life.

      • The writing skills that I acquired over my practicum experience will also be useful, and I hope to apply them later in life. I got a lot of practice writing and learned a lot of new grammar, spelling, formatting, etc. techniques and tricks that have helped improve my writing immensely. I hope to use these new writing skills throughout my life, and in future writing assignments.

    • Applying my practicum to my career:

      • I came into this internship with minimal knowledge about finance, stocks, and investments, even though I was interested in learning more about the subject. ​Over the course of my experience, I learned a lot about the business world, which heightened my interest in the subject. Now, I hope to apply my business knowledge to my future career.

      • Importantly, my practicum taught me how jobs can have overlap between different majors or fields of study. This internship combined my liking for business, journalism and writing, and psychology - which was important when tailoring the articles to every day people who lack immense finance knowledge. I hope to find a career that combines many of my interests, and this practicum experience taught me that this is possible to do.

  • Here is an updated version of my resume, which includes my Legacy Research Group internship:

resume pic.png

MY FUTURE PLANS:

  • For the rest of my time at UMD:

    • I plan to continue with my primary subject of interest, psychology, which is also my major. However, I plan to incorporate my interest in business into my curriculum. I hope to add either a business major or minor to allow me to further explore the business world. Additionally, I hope to join more clubs on campus to allow me to explore my interests. I would like to get involved in a business-themed student group and hope to join the psychology honors society as well. Additionally, I plan to get more psychology research experience on campus, with the hope I can explore IO psychology, so I can further my business studies as well.

  • Post-graduation:

    • After graduating from UMD, I plan to continue my studies in graduate school. I hope to study a field that combines my business and psychology interests. I will likely try to get a PhD in IO psychology. ​

  • My prospective career/field of interest:

    • ​As​ I hope to explore both my interests, I intend to work in a field such as a Human Resources (HR) department of a large financial or business company. With a career like this, I can easily utilize both of my interests and skills. On the one hand, I will explore my psychology interest as I will help people work through workplace conflicts, and welcome newcomers into the company, through an efficient recruiting process, while making people feel welcome. On the other hand, as an employee of a financial company, I will learn a lot more about the business field, and help manage certain parts of the company from behind the scenes. ​

HOW I HAVE GROWN FROM MY PRACTICUM:​

  • As a person

    • I now understand how ​to work and communicate with others in a workplace setting

    • I know how to foster meaningful relationships and how to network with other employees

    • I learned the importance of how to work on a team

      • I know how to compromise and share my ideas with others in a healthy, effective way ​where I can make my points clear while also being respectful to others 

  • As a student/professional  

    • I learned how to manage tight deadlines, while juggling multiple assignments all at once. This will be a helpful skill as I continue in my college career and in future jobs.

    • I gained knowledge:

      • I now know a lot more about financing, investing, and the stock market. This business knowledge helps me be a more well-rounded student and professional

      • I improved my writing, editing, and proofreading skills. This will be helpful in future classes and careers. 

      • I now understand how a workplace functions and I know how to act accordingly and professionally 

​

  • EVIDENCE: 

    • I feel that the following two images show my growth​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

  • The image above is a screenshot of a Slack conversation I had with a colleague (who will remain anonymous for their privacy). This particular Slack message means a lot to me because it shows my growth in time management. It shows that I was successfully able to juggle ​multiple tasks at once. The day I had to do that headlines and blurbs assignment was the same day I was assigned to edit three long articles (about 20 pages each) from different colleagues of mine. The amount of work I had to do really stressed me out. So, I made a schedule for what I had to do, but I was nervous that, because I had so much to do, I wouldn't do a good job on all my tasks. However, as the Slack message shows, I still managed to do an "excellent" job on this assignment, even though I was juggling many things at once.​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

  • The image above is a screenshot of an email from a colleague (who will also remain anonymous for their privacy). I sent an email on the last day to colleagues thanking them for allowing me to work with them. I was really happy when I received the email response above, and feel that it shows my growth in my networking, communication, and fostering meaningful relationships with colleagues in the workplace setting. The email's author mentions that I was a pleasure to work with and that the team will miss me after I finish my internship. Before this internship, I was nervous how I would get along with other employees, and if I'd even foster any positive relationships at all. I was especially nervous because the workplace is a stressful setting, which could potentially hinder me from being able to make friendships. However, I overcame my worries and, as the email shows, I grew socially and made good relationships and left a positive impact on my colleagues.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​​

​​

 

 

 

​

​​​

bottom of page