SRL Academy Events Intern

WETA; Arlington (VA); Hybrid; USD 19,000 - 30,000; Full time

Job summary

WETA's PBS News Student Reporting Labs seeks an Academy Events Intern to support planning, coordination and execution of SRL's academy programs for high school students in Arlington, VA.

The role involves assisting with recruitment, logistics, and on-site support for the Spring Academy in March 2027, with some remote work on other days.

This internship offers exposure to non-profit administration, events management, and youth media in a collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Experience with event planning, student groups, or youth programs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments and deadlines.
• Interest in youth media, journalism, or education.

Responsibilities

• Maintain schedules, planning documents, task lists, and program resources.
• Assist with student recruitment, application, selection, and onboarding.
• Prepare communications and materials for various audiences.
• Assist with Academy logistics including guest coordination, meeting spaces, meals, transportation, supplies, equipment, registration, and daily schedules.
• Help organize production equipment and instructional materials.
• Conduct research related to venues, program resources, partners, vendors, student opportunities, and other Academy needs.
• Help collect participant feedback and organize program materials following the Academy.
• Participate in additional SRL projects and activities as opportunities arise.

Skills

Organizational skills

Communication

Event planning

Team collaboration

Multi-tasking

Initiative & learning

Education

Communications

Education

Non-Profit Administration

Hospitality (Events)

Job description

PBS News Student Reporting Labs (SRL) seeks an Academy Events Intern to support the planning, coordination and execution of SRL's academy programs for high school students, and youth media/educator-related projects. SRL Academies are intensive, multi-day video journalism production opportunities for high school students. Students are brought together in groups to develop and create original content.

Students work as a team, moving through the entire journalism process; developing ideas/pitches, researching and conducting interviews, producing/fielding video/audio/photo, editing and creating a final product. In addition to working through this process, students also receive instruction and constructive feedback from SRL staff and experienced mentors.

The Academy Events Intern will work in a hybrid setting with a variety of staff members to primarily assist with coordination and execution of the 2027 Spring Academy in Arlington, VA, from initial planning stages through on-site execution, and closing out the project after it concludes in late March. The Academy Events Intern may help assist with preparations for SRL's Summer Academy, the Teacher Ambassador Fellowship, educator workshops and other SRL youth media programming as time permits.

This internship is geared towards students seeking meaningful experience in events management, non-profit administration, and/or program design, and who bring an interest in youth media, journalism, education, or public broadcasting.

Interns must be very organized, flexible, and able to multi-task. They should bring experience working on projects with many moving parts and complicated logistics, and be skilled at communicating progress and roadblocks frequently and clearly with a variety of collaborators.

We anticipate this position working ~16 hours most weeks, with an important exception: In-person support staff for SRL's Spring Academy, taking place March 19th - 24th. Academy programming may include late nights/mornings, weekends, off-site events. This week is an outlier, in which the intern should anticipate working ~40 hours.

This position follows a hybrid schedule. The intern is required to work in person at WETA every Thursday. Other regularly scheduled workdays may be completed remotely, with the option to work in the office.

Additional in-person availability will be required for Academy programming, workshops, meetings, and other program activities, primarily the Spring Academy from March 19th to 24th, 2027.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Maintain schedules, planning documents, task lists, and program resources for Academy events.
• Assist with student recruitment, application, selection, and onboarding activities.
• Prepare communications and materials for a variety of audiences.
• Assist with Academy logistics including: guest coordination, meeting spaces, meals, transportation, supplies, equipment, registration, and daily schedules.
• Help organize production equipment and instructional materials.
• Conduct research related to venues, program resources, partners, vendors, student opportunities, and other Academy needs.
• Help collect participant feedback and organize program materials following the Academy.
• Participate in additional SRL projects and activities as opportunities arise.

EDUCATION:

Preferred Major: Communications, Education, Non-Profit Administration, Hospitality (Events)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

• Support the development, scheduling and delivery of a large scale educational program (from initial planning and preparation to actual program execution).
• Develop the skills needed to coordinate a program project that spans multiple deadlines, requires interaction with numerous stakeholders and delivers results at various points in time.
• Gain hands‑on experience in the day‑to‑day operation of a multi‑day student program.
• Learn about communication and coordination with students, family members, educators, mentors, vendors, venues and organization partners.

DESIRED COMPETENCIES:

• Strong organizational skills and careful attention to detail.
• Previous experience with event planning, student organizations, camps, school programs, or youth programs.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments and deadlines.
• Ability to work independently while also collaborating as part of a team.
• Interest in working with young people, educators, and diverse communities.
• Willingness to take initiative, ask questions, and learn new skills.
• Comfort working in a fast-moving environment where program needs may change.
• Interest in journalism, storytelling, media production, education, youth programming, or public media preferred.

LOCATION

WETA and NewsHour Productions are Washington, DC established media and news organizations. We are a largely local workforce based out of the Campbell Place office in Arlington, VA. WETA and NewsHour Productions value employee flexibility when possible. Most positions based in our Arlington, VA office will be onsite or hybrid, depending upon the role.

COMPANY OVERVIEW

WETA, the flagship public media station in the nation’s capital, produces and distributes content that informs, inspires, and enriches lives.

As the second-largest producing station for the public media system, WETA creates programming to explore history, arts, and culture, partnering with acclaimed filmmakers such as Ken Burns and Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. National WETA productions include The American Revolution and Finding Your Roots, among many others. WETA is also home to PBS News, the primary daily, breaking, and special news producer for PBS. Its broadcast productions include PBS News Hour, Washington Week with The Atlantic, Horizons from PBS News, and Compass Points from PBS News, as well as specials, documentaries, and a robust footprint across digital platforms.

Locally, WETA serves audiences across Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Maryland, through television, radio, and digital platforms. Audiences access WETA on broadcast channels WETA PBS, WETA UK, WETA Metro, WETA World, and WETA PBS Kids, and digitally through the free streaming platformWETA+. Listeners tune into WETA Classical, the exclusive home for classical music in the Greater Washington area, via radio, online, and the WETA Classical app. Benefits | WETA

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

WETA and NewsHour Productions are equal opportunity employers committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We prohibit discrimination and harassment of any kind based on race, color, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, genetic information, pregnancy, or any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all employment practices within our organization, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, training, and internships. WETA and NewsHour Productions make hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.