March, 1989 was spent quite differently for me than any March in the past. For three weeks, I wasn't on vacation or in school. I was working as an intern on amBOSTON, a live morning talk show on WSBK-TV38 in Boston.

Why did I choose to do this? I have always loved the world of tele-journalism. Even now, I find the many different talk shows and news programs fascinating to watch. It's not so much the topic that always interests me, but the reporters and their style of reporting. When I learned that I would be accepted for internship at TV38, I was ecstatic! I would finally have the chance to work in a field that has always excited me!

I did, however, have some reservations. Here I was, a 17-year-old, the youngest person at the station, trying to fit in. Not only would I have to prove my worth as a high school intern, but I would be working among educated business people with degrees. I didn't even have a high school diploma.

This proved not to be a problem. Armed with confidence, I knew I could do the job and show the people there that I wasn't a typical high school student. It worked. People there assumed I was in college because of my attitude and my sense of responsibility. I learned first-hand how these qualities go a long way in the world of business.

What did I do? My jobs at the station were varied. As an intern, the every day jobs included guest, phone, and studio duties. Each intern would be assigned one of these jobs.

Guest duty was a type of P.R. job. When the guests arrived before the show, I would greet them, have them sign release forms, and bring them to the company cafeteria to talk and offer them refreshments.

The guests would range from comedians to authors, cooks to doctors, victims of crime and abuse to singers and well-known people. The first day I was there, one of the guests for the show was the famous wrestler, Captain Lou Albano. How's that for variety!

Phone duty went on during the show's LIVEWIRE segment, the segment which allows the viewers

to call in. As an intern, I wore a headset and answered the phone lines. I would then talk to the producer in the studio (via the headset) as to whether or not the call was appropriate to put on the air. Once this was decided, the people in the control room were notified which line that particular caller was on, and then the caller was placed on the air.

Studio duty was my favorite assignment and the one that I opted for the most because I would be able to watch the show live in the studio. Before the show, this duty involved getting cue cards ready and helping the guests. After the show, ascertainment forms (descriptions of what went on during each segment), had to be written and typed as well as thank-you notes. Chyron lists (lists of the show's graphics), also had to be typed for the next day. These were the every day things. While I was at TV38, I also had many opportunities to conduct pre-interviews over the phone and come up with show topics that I, myself, could work on.

I learned so much from this internship, I believe, because of the "hands-on" work experience. At amBOSTON, there is really no staff because the interns are the staff. It was because of this that I was able to work directly with the producer (Melanie Freeman) and the show host (Meg LaVigne).

Thus, in a relatively short period of time, I found my communications skills improving because of all the writing and pre-interviewing that I was doing for my shows. It was terrific for me to see an idea of mine discussed at a meeting, given the chance to be worked on, and to finally see the fruits of my labor when I saw it on the air and met the people whom I had pre-interviewed. Since I was only at TV38 for three weeks, I was working on three different shows at the same time as well as fulfilling other daily requirements. This was an exciting challenge; yet, it was a learning experience which I will never forget. n