Intern Profile: Morgan Stewart
Posted: October 3, 2011 Filed under: Intern Profiles | Tags: AFL, Collingwood Football Club, Herfooty, Hotch Potch, Interns, Sunbury Leader, Twitter, University of Ballarat Leave a comment »
Morgan Stewart is an aspiring writer and passionate AFL lover. She is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts (Professional Writing and Editing) at the University of Ballarat.
Combining her two loves, Morgan currently blogs for Herfooty a website for AFL, written by women for women. Morgan is also the Assistant Editor for her university’s student magazine, Hotch Potch.
“Herfooty is a website and social media tool designed for women who love AFL”, says Morgan. “They keep fans up to date with scores etc via social media, and with articles and merchandise on the website.”
Although Morgan submits her articles online to Herfooty, she finds this fits in perfectly with juggling her Hotch Potch editorial duties, university studies, part time job and social life.
Morgan says that interning is crucial in building her portfolio to get a job after she graduates. “There’s no way that you can just complete your degree and expect to walk in to a job”, says Morgan.
From her internship with Herfooty, Hotch Potch and previous work experiences with the Sunbury Leader, Morgan has made useful contacts and gained invaluable industry experience.
Morgan says the more experience she has had, the more confident she has become in her writing.
Another invaluable tool that Morgan has used to gain contacts and network is Twitter. Twitter is where Morgan found out about Herfooty and contacted them via their Twitter account about writing for the website.
Without creating her Twitter account, Morgan wouldn’t have found her current internship or be in touch with the media industry. “The best thing any Journalism, Media, PR, Communications student can do [is] get a twitter account” says Morgan.
Not only is Twitter and useful tool, Morgan recommends interning and getting hands on experience in your chosen media industry. Morgan says that interning is the best way to gain experience that can open so many doors to other opportunities.
“It’s not enough to just turn up to uni, do the work and that’s it”, explains Morgan.
In an effort to gain more experience, Morgan will be completing work experience with The Ballarat Courier in October.
Ideally, Morgan wants to work in print journalism, whether it is in AFL, youth news or current affairs. However Morgan says she is also open to the idea of working in magazines and can picture herself living in Sydney working on Park St.
But ultimately, Morgan’s passion for AFL and the Collingwood Football Club is what she dreams about “I would be a very happy person if my future job involved writing and the AFL.”
Morgan is definitely on her way to turning that dream into reality.
You can follow Morgan, Herfooty and Hotch Potch on Twitter. You can also read all of Morgan’s published work on her website.“Do it. In an industry like this, which is so difficult to crack, you only get out what you put in. Interning and work experience is such an important tool in gaining experience and contacts. And as we all know, contacts are so important. Also, don’t feel dejected and give up if you don’t get one that you apply for, it’s bound to happen in an industry with such high competition”, says Morgan.
“Just continue to apply, and apply and apply. If it’s what you love, and it’s what you want to do, don’t be afraid to work hard and put yourself out there. You’ll regret it if you don’t, and you’ll be thanking yourself for years if you do. Whatever you do, DON’T GIVE UP. Despite what anyone says, you can do it.”
