Unpaid internships have been getting a bad rap lately, and in many ways, rightfully so.
For many, financial constraints that come with being a student mean unpaid internships are not even an option.
But Carleton has a program that is proof that unpaid internships can be done right.
I was lucky enough to be one of about 20 journalism and communication students to participate in Carleton’s Centre for Media and Transitional Societies (CMTS) internship program. We travelled to various countries across Africa doing eight-week placements with various media organizations. I spent this summer living and working in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.
Each intern receives $3,000 toward the costs of our trip, which help us pay for everything from immunizations to our airplane tickets. The money comes directly from Carleton and a grant from the Reader’s Digest Foundation. Many of us had to spend some of our own money too in order to cover remaining costs. All of the internships are unpaid.
My colleagues worked in print, radio, and television. I worked in the newsroom at TV10, Rwanda’s first and only privately run newscast. They began broadcasting television news just a month before I started there.
Not only did I gain valuable work experience and learn about the media landscape of Rwanda, but I had the experience of a lifetime that has forever changed how I see the world and view journalism.
The CMTS grew from the Rwanda Initiative, a program started by Carleton journalism professor Allan Thompson in 2006. In 2011, there were concerns that the program would be cancelled altogether due to lack of funds. Although it has undergone some changes, the internship program has continued, and to date has sent over 150 interns to Africa—everywhere from Ghana to Tanzania.
Carleton cannot afford to lose this program. Along with the unfathomable learning experience it provides us as young journalists, it is a major draw for the school’s degree and master’s programs. Ask any journalism or communication student why they chose Carleton, and many will tell you that it was because of this very program. I know that’s why I chose it.
Our school has something incredibly unique that should never be halted due to a lack of funding. I can personally attest that this program has given our university and our journalism school an international reputation. No matter where I went in Rwanda, people knew about our program. They might not have even known where Ottawa was, but they had heard of Carleton and they had heard of Allan Thompson. I’m serious, Thompson is legitimately a Rwandan celebrity.
After four years of paying tuition and rent, I know I would have never been able to pay for this opportunity if it hadn’t been for the financial assistance that Carleton provided me. I know that without this program and the funding we receive, myself and many of my fellow interns could not have afforded to go.
I am proof that an unpaid internship can be absolutely worth it, especially when you have a program like CMTS to help you.
