Grant and Angela, both on the far right, at NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt

As a part of a constantly evolving field, students in Northeastern’s School of Journalism are able to use their co-ops to gain invaluable first-hand experience in real life news rooms. Grant Hill and Angela Chow, two undergraduate students in the School of Journalism, are both currently on co-op in New York City at Nightly News with Lester Holt on NBC. We recently spoke with both of them about their daily work, their experiences in New York and how their time at NBC will help them advance in their journalism careers.

How did you go about getting this co-op?

Grant: I really think my experience from my prior co-op at CNBC landed me this one. Not only was I able to use my former boss there as a reference, but during my interview I was able to talk about some useful skills that I had gained from CNBC.

Angela: I frequently spoke with Michelle (Hagopian, Journalism co-op advisor) about my co-op options and she suggested I apply to Nightly on NUCareers.            

How did your classes at Northeastern prepare you for working at NBC?

Grant: There’s a lot of journalism jargon thrown around in the newsroom. Fortunately, all of my journalism classes have really focused on providing these definitions in context, as well as using hands-on experience with them to broaden our understandings.

Angela: Journalism classes taught me the importance of staying on top of current events which is extremely important for this job. My classes also taught me how to balance my time well.

What is it like to be living and working right in New York City?

Grant: I love living in the city. Granted I’m at work for most of my day and don’t really get to explore too much, but there’s really ample opportunity to do anything you want here, which is nice.

Angela: Living and working in the city is great. There’s always so much to do and explore outside of work. I’ve never been bored.

Are there any interesting or fun things you’ve been able to do outside of your co-op while in New York?

Grant: Concerts are key for me here!

Angela: I’ve been able to go to a lot of museums and explore the city with my friends. It’s easy to meet other people who go to northeastern.

What type of work does your co-op actually involve?

Grant: Each day is kind of a new thing. Some days consist of doing some logging for stories airing on the show later that night or making sure that every producer has the information they need for the show. But some days I’ll learn how to ingest tape or assist in the studio when we are on air. I am also always trying to find new stories to pitch for the show.

Angela: I answer phones, log stories for producers, print scripts and rundowns, and anything else my supervisor or the producers need.

What has been your favorite project you’ve been able to participate in while on co-op?

Grant: Right now I am working on a digital story involving climate change and national parks which has been a blast. It is still getting off the ground but I’m hoping to go out and write, shoot, and edit the piece within the next month.

 Angela: I got to go on a shoot with producer for an interview that was airing that night. It was cool seeing how everything was done behind the scenes of an interview.

Do you ever have the opportunity to work together as co-op students?

Grant: Angela sits right across from me and we team up on stuff basically every day! It’s nice having a fellow husky to share the desk with.

Angela: We work together every day on logs and requests from the producers. Teamwork is needed in this environment.

How do you think your co-op experience can be applied to your Northeastern education? After you graduate?

Grant: I think of my co-op experience and my Northeastern education as one in the same because I really couldn’t have one without the other. I think that journalism is something you’ve got to just get out and do in order to learn really well. Both co-op and the School of Journalism have really allowed me to do both.

Angela: It’s helped me learn the ins and outs of the news industry and what it takes to put together an entire production. This will help me both in my journalism classes and for my career as I want to stay in the news industry.

What has been the biggest take away from your co-op at NBC?

Grant: My biggest takeaway so far has been that in order to get the most out of something, you really have to be the first to volunteer or give a new idea. I’ve learned that you always have to be thinking about the future and what initiative you can take now in order to be the first one to create it. NBC really encourages this.

Angela: Learning about the news industry is definitely the best part. It’s amazing to be part of a newsroom when everyone is on a time constraint to put together a whole show in less than 10 hours.