The
Communicator
8
Lessons from the White House
J/MC major interns in
Vice President's Office
by Emily Carson, ‘14
While most St. Bonaventure students spent the spring semester studying for classes and making their way around the Bona Bubble, journalism and mass communication major Angelia Roggie decided to spend hers with a not-so-average Joe.
Roggie was offered an internship working for Joe Biden in the Office of the Vice President in the White House.
“This internship really is the chance of a lifetime,” she said. “I knew if I didn’t take it I would miss out on a great opportunity and lose the chance to have some truly memorable experiences.”
Specifically, Roggie worked with the vice president’s speech writing team.
“Basically, I assisted the speechwriters by doing research on the given topic or audience, including finding things the vice president had said in the past about the topic or event and finding quotes or anecdotes they can use in the speech,” she said. “Then, I’d compile everything I find, or they need, into a single memo for that specific speech.”
As a journalism and mass communication major, 400 hours of internship are required before graduation. Roggie said she wanted to intern for a larger conglomerate since she had already interned at medium-sized media organizations before, including ClarksvilleNow.com and Five Star Radio Group in Clarksville, Tenn., and one at a morning talk show called Bridge Street in Syracuse, N.Y.
“In journalism, hands-on experience is vital and it shows that you can actually do the work you’ve been studying,” she said. “Eventually, with my aunt living in D.C., I decided to look up agencies with press departments in the area because if I did manage to get an internship at one, at least I would have a place to stay.”
Roggie’s journey to the White House was not an easy one. She applied for a position the summer after her sophomore year and the fall of her junior year, but was not accepted. She became discouraged, but decided to apply again one last time.
“Needless to say, my road to the White House was filled with some disappointments, rejection, but what they say about perseverance really couldn’t be more true,” she said. “If I hadn’t kept trying, I wouldn’t be here right now.”
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Angelia Roggie (center) stands in front of the White House during an Easter Egg Hunt.
Fall '13