Final Post

After a total of 43 hours over the course of 10 days, I am finally finished with my internship at Justine Magazine. I've gained so many valuable gifts like interpersonal skills, creativeness, flexibility, and self-confidence. I am so delighted that Justine awarded me the opportunity to intern with them, and am also extremely grateful that the Hutchison Leads team was there encouraging me and making sure everything was running smoothly. 

When I was preparing to leave for the day, I shared my plans of touring Virginia schools in the days preceding my public policy program. Julie Weaver, an associate editor/spark book club director, was especially excited for me and related how her daughter had toured the same colleges. Then Terri Glazer, an associate/copy editor, came in and expressed how she, too, had toured the same colleges, too! They were so warm and showed interest in my plans, which was very kind of them. 

Before I left, Adrianne told me that I could pop in any time! Then, she directed me to the "beauty closet" and said I could pick out whichever items I wanted. 

Here are some of the pictures that Mr. Travis took when he came to Justine Thursday. 

I had such a great experience a my internship and hope to have a job in a workplace like Justine that is so open and inviting.

Email me at johnsonannad@gmail.com for any questions! If you want to know more about me, check out my resume page.

Thanks for reading!

PS- I am just now posting because my internet has been down!

Check Out My Content on Justine Magazine!

Well, some of the content I've done is now on Justine courtesy of Adrianne! So exciting! Julie, the spark books director, said she loved my TFIOS quiz and tweeted out a link! Ahh!!

• Click here to see my TFIOS quiz!
• Click here to see my babysitting check list\
• Click here to see my Father's Day gift guide
• Click here to see my sunscreen tips!

I love that they are giving me so much responsibility! I mainly have been doing stories and quizzes such as the ones above, but I have also typed up interview questions.

Tomorrow Mr. Travis will be coming to Justine to take quality candids. Can't wait! Tune in later to see how the rest of my internship goes!

The Work Grind: Second Week

Mrs. Pettey will be in China for the next two weeks for a business conference, so work today was very quiet. Until 2pm, there were only 4 people including me at Justine!

At the beginning of the day, I had the formidable task of sorting, labelling, and boxing all of the photoshoot clothes to ship back to the retailers. Monica, the fashion coordinator, kept asking if I was "going totally crazy." Luckily, I'm very systematic and find pleasure in putting everything in its proper place.

Step 1 was complete: I had made sure that everything was accounted for and grouped them (with the checklist of items) in a pile according to brand...

Step 2: Finding the original boxes for the clothes, packing the garments in, and making sure the list was with the correct items

In the afternoon, I was under Adrianne's direction and got to work. I wrote a blurb about an upcoming campaign called The Hunt, collected fast facts about the June/July cover girl Ella Wahlestedt, and I made a "What Character Are You Most Like From TFIOS" !

I used the layout artist's computer today which has two screens! So cool! 

Writing up bullet points for information on The Hunt

Researching the June/'July cover girl for some quick, need to know facts to show Justine readers! If you didn't know, Ella was born in Sweden, was a level 7 gymnast by age 10, loves hiking and cross fit, and stars in the upcoming film, Earth to Echo! And, she's only 15! I love that Justine includes such positive female role models in their magazine.

The start of my personality quiz! Check on Justine later to see it! I'll include the link in a later post once it's up!

As I reflect on my day today, I'd just like to reiterate how positive and encouraging the atmosphere at Justine is. 

At lunch, we all shared embarrassing stories from our childhood . For instance, in Adrianne's 6th grade year book picture, she looks like she's a member of the Hanson family! And, Terri got her teeth knocked out moving a volleyball net and, consequently, had to spend 3 whole months of 8th grade missing two front teeth.  

I love how comfortable the Justine employees are with me that they share personal stories. You know it's a great workplace when, after laboring industriously over mounds of clothes in the morning, you can laugh a little.

I can't wait to see what this week brings.

xoxo,
Anna 

What I Want Out of a Job

As the days have progressed, I've noticed that I've been given more responsibility increasingly. Yesterday I fortunately was not able to come in because there was a server issue, but today I came back with full vitality and willingness to assist.

Today, after Mrs. Pettey introduced me to the Elizabeth Wheeler, Justine's managing editor, she eagerly encouraged me to tell Elizabeth about my summer plans. Although we had talked about it once over email, I was extremely surprised that Mrs. Pettey remembered something so specific to my life. Even more remarkable was that she expressed interest in other people knowing it, almost as if she was proud that her intern was participating in a public policy program¹.

While the others were eating lunch (I had eaten previously), I started thumbing through Justine's expansive book collection. One thing I love about Justine, which sets them apart from other teen magazines, is that they promote reading in every issue. When I briefly talked to Julie Weaver and overheard her talking to another intern about the newest Kylie and Kendall Jenner book (note: her desk was overflowing with books not yet released),  I could tell that she truly loved reading and had a desire to spread that love to others.

Before high school hit, I read almost a book a day and found great pleasure in it. Now that I  am overwhelmed by papers, standardized tests, reports, and numerous college preparatory worries, I have lost the time to read. I'm deeply, deeply regretful that I have not been able to read as voraciously as I had been able in my middle school days, so I revere Justine greatly for encouraging kids to read. They really reach out and saying, "Yes. Reading is cool!"

Even if I don't pursue a career in the magazine industry, I know that this internship has greatly impacted my vision for what I want my career to look like. The positive atmosphere that Justine cultivates encourages me to seek out those workplaces that have the same enthusiasm....That is the purpose of internship - to figure out what you want as you grow older.

Check back later as I continue my journey as a Justine intern!

---

1 From June 22nd to July 19th I will be in Washington, DC participating in St. Albans School of Public Service. Click on "SPS Webpage" for more information SPS Webpage

First Day!

At 9:57 AM this morning, I rang Justine's doorbell and was promptly greeted by Monica Hudson, the fashion director. She looked at me hesitantly after seeing that I didn't have a package in my arms. I'm sure she was thinking, "Um, who are you?" After telling her that I was the new intern, she informed me that they had all been away in New York for the Book Expo America, so "that's why things are a little bit scattered right now." 

As I gazed around the room, I noticed that Justine had expanded since I shadowed in 8th grade. Picture around 5-6 brightly painted rooms, each crammed with stacks of books, large racks of magazines, various beauty products in bins, clothes shoved in plastic bags (awaiting a trip in Monica's red Chevy for the fashion shoot tomorrow, June 3rd), racks, hangers, mac desktop computers, bulletin boards with fashion and beauty inspiration, and page layouts on the wall & you'll get an accurate picture of the Justine space. 

 Above: Rack of competitors' magazines                                 One of the many bookshelves

       Page layout for the June/July issue!

 The break-room houses racks of copies of Justine magazines

Monica directed me to the associate editor, Adrianne Jernigan, who will be my quasi-boss. Just as the room emitted cheer, she, too, exuded a welcoming and positive attitude. Admits totaling her car, misprinting the date which the giveaway winner would be announced, and just returning from two back to back trips, she was calm, collected, and friendly. She immediately sent me to work, and I was happy to do whatever she needed; from creating excel documents of release dates to writing a blurb about cheating to capturing Lionsgate's new Hunger Games attraction, I played the magazine field, so to say. 

My desk!

When Jana Pettey, editor in chief, arrived, she greeted me warmly. I felt accepted by everyone at Justine. One reason I can tell that I will love Justine is because of the atmosphere. Everyone wants each-other to succeed; you can easily see that Justine has a positive work environment. No one blaming mistakes on others to gain favor or a promotion; rather, they work cohesively as a team to produce a top-notch magazine. This is the type of workplace I hope I will be able to experience and foster as I get older. 

Mainly, I think this positive attitude is spread by Mrs. Pettey. To exemplify this, I'll give a short instance of her kindness. Late in the day, when Adrianne was relating about how she was being carpooled to work and others places, Mrs. Pettey popped her head in and nonchalantly said, "Hey, Adrianne, I have a car that's just sitting in my driveway. You can drive it." By her attitude, I could tell that Mrs. Pettey regularly supports her employees in more ways than one. She's diligent and hardworking, but also compassionate and empathetic. 

After my first day, I am worn out! I finished at 4pm for a total of 6 hours at Justine. I can't wait to go back tomorrow!

-Anna Johnson