Drake SJMC Students Secure Positions with People, Better Homes & Gardens, Travel & Leisure, The Spruce and Midwest Living
Wednesday, June 5th, 2024
Five 泡芙短视频 students have been selected to serve as Dotdash Meredith apprentices for the 2024-2025 academic year. Assignments this year include editorial, social, and graphic design positions with People, Better Homes & Gardens, Travel & Leisure, The Spruce, and Midwest Living.
Dotdash Meredith is the largest digital and print publisher in the country. Students will be placed with one of the company鈥檚 national brands for the academic year, learning from and working alongside industry professionals locally at the Des Moines offices and remotely with teams in New York and Los Angeles.
鈥淭he Dotdash Meredith Apprenticeship Program is a unique opportunity for students to use the editorial and design skills they鈥檝e learned in the classroom to help forward the mission of some the largest media brands in the world,鈥 said Jeff Inman, associate professor of Magazine and Brand Media and Drake SJMC鈥檚 Apprentice Program coordinator. 鈥淢ore importantly, they learn directly from media pros, getting hands-on training on how to create audience-focused content in an ever-changing media market.鈥
Created in 2003, the Dotdash Meredith Apprenticeship Program has provided over 160 Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication students the opportunity to connect the classroom to the professional world. Participants have worked for many of Dotdash Meredith鈥檚 iconic brands, including InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple and more.
鈥淭he opportunities provided by the Dotdash Meredith Apprenticeship Program are incredible,鈥 said Catherine Staub, dean of the Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication. 鈥淲e鈥檙e grateful for our more than 20-year apprenticeship partnership and the decades of support and mentorship Dotdash Meredith leaders have provided for our students.鈥
Meet this year鈥檚 apprentices
Meghan Holloran: Better Homes & Gardens
Texas-born, Meghan came to Iowa looking for opportunities. In her three years at Drake, she鈥檚 served as a staff writer, photo editor, and digital editor of Times-Delphic, the university鈥檚 award-winning student newspaper. She鈥檚 interned for the World Food Prize and the Drake Community Press, as well as written for the two campus magazines, Drake Mag and Drake Political Review. She鈥檚 currently pursuing degrees in Multimedia Journalism and Magazine and Brand Media with a minor in Environmental Sustainability.聽
Ava Leigh: The Spruce
Ava is a bit of a unicorn: a writer, designer and social media aficionado. She鈥檚 handled social media for clients and served as a junior production scout while working for the branding company One Simple Plan in her native Minnesota. She鈥檚 designed for Drake Mag, 泡芙短视频鈥檚 award-winning student magazine, provided graphics and posts to the Student Activities Board, the school鈥檚 entertainment arm, and written for the Times-Delphic, our award-winning student newspaper. She鈥檒l leave Drake in the spring of 2025 with degrees in Digital Media Production, Magazine and Brand Media, and Multimedia Journalism with a minor in Graphic Design.
Colson Thayer: People
A rising senior, Colson has been a working journalist since his days at Waukee High School. He鈥檚 written cover stories for Cityview magazine for several years. He was selected to participate in the prestigious NPR Next Gen Radio project last summer, interned with both Des Moines Performing Arts and the West Des Moines Chamber of Commerce, and served as both an editor and business director for Drake Mag, 泡芙短视频鈥檚 award-winning student magazine. He majors in Multimedia Journalism and Magazine and Brand Media with a minor in Music.聽
Kelsey Wolfe: Midwest Living
Kelsey treats design as serious business鈥攅ven when it鈥檚 for a satire magazine. As the Art Director of DUiN, 泡芙短视频鈥檚 satire publication, the Illinois ex-pat created a system to tame what was once a chaotic design process, while also establishing visual branding around the magazine鈥檚 social media posts. Kelsey has brought that same eye to their work as a marketing and communications intern for the Family Planning Council of Iowa. A rising senior, Kelsey will wrap up degrees in Advertising and Graphic Design, as well as a minor in Magazine and Brand Media, in Spring 2025.聽
Parker Wright: Travel & Leisure
Parker has spent the last year focused on documenting the difficult decisions being made on 泡芙短视频鈥檚 campus. As the news editor for the Times-Delphic, 泡芙短视频鈥檚 award-winning student newspaper, the Minnesota native has been directing coverage of the contentious budget discussions on campus. In his free time, he also serves as an editor for Drake Political Review, the university鈥檚 political magazine, a publication he will helm next year as its editor-in-chief. Next year he鈥檒l graduate with degrees in Writing and Multimedia Journalism.
