How She Got That Internship: Rose’s Virtual Internship at Fox Corporation

How She Got That Internship is a series that highlights conservative women’s internships in various organizations and positions to inspire the next generation of conservative women to lead. Did you, or a young woman that you know, have an internship experience you want to share with our readers? Submit it in this form and we will contact you if we think it would be a great fit for the series. 

This was certainly a weird season for internships–with the global pandemic making a lot of internships go virtual. Thinking about the future, girls across the country are dutifully working to prepare for the internships they have landed and thinking ahead to future internships and jobs. FFL is sitting down with a number of interns to reflect on the best internships they’ve had and inspire others to try new things, step outside of their comfort zone, and be the best intern they can be. 

This week, we’ll be talking to Rose, who completed a partially virtual internship with Fox Corporation this spring and summer. 

Rose Laoutaris is a rising junior at American University in Washington, D.C. majoring in Communications, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government (CLEG). This spring and summer, she was a government relations intern at Fox Corporation. She was previously an Academy fellow at the Heritage Foundation, an intern for Senator Bill Cassidy, and an intern at the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women. She is also an FFL Cabinet Member, a content coordinator at Lone Conservative, and a member of Young Americans for Freedom and Students for Life on campus.

How did you find out about the internship opportunities at Fox and what was the application process like? 

Growing up, I watched Fox News with my parents, so once I started getting more involved in politics and looking for internships, I knew Fox was somewhere I would love to work. When I looked at their website, I saw Fox Corporation’s Government Relations department was looking for an intern and applied. The application did not require much, just a resume and some writing samples. I wasn’t interviewed, but I know that isn’t always the case for every intern. About a month after applying, I received a call that I had gotten the internship!

What was a typical day like there? And how did those days change as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed? 

I had two different experiences interning at Fox. In the spring, I worked in-person in Washington, DC, for a month before it was cut short due to COVID-19, but I was invited back to intern in the summer remotely as a part of their virtual internship program.

When I was in DC, I would take the metro to work from my dorm and begin my day at 9am. I worked two days a week from 9-5 because I was also in school. Each day varied, but my bosses often had me go to Capitol Hill to attend different hearings and meetings on issues relevant to them as well as other meetings and events in DC. They would also give me different assignments to complete in the office usually researching an issue they’re working on.

Once I returned for the summer, the internship changed a lot. I worked from home in New Jersey and had many different assignments. I worked between 24-32 hours per week, but I was mostly able to choose what time of day I wanted to work. On a typical day this summer, I met with my project group to create a social media marketing campaign for Fox Sports that we presented to our assigned team experts at the end of the internship. I attended master classes daily with all of the other interns on topics ranging from video editing to cyber security to reporting and would sometimes have a one-on-one professional development session with a recruiter to work on my resume or interview skills. I also continued working with the government relations department, and I would work with a different person in the department on a different assignment each week.

Were there other interns that you worked closely with? How did you connect with other interns virtually?

When I was working in-person in DC, I was the only government relations intern, so I hadn’t worked with other interns, but when I came back for the summer virtual internship, I worked with many different interns. I mostly worked with 3 other interns on my Fox Sports marketing project, and we met on Zoom almost every day. All of the interns, no matter what department you were initially assigned, also went to the same master classes. We also had other scheduled Zoom calls with assigned mentors that work at Fox, and we got to meet other interns in those group calls.

Our managers also created a Linkedin group and slack channel for all of the interns to communicate, and they put together a fun “scavenger hunt” challenge through slack to help us get to know each other. We would also have “virtual hangouts” where we got to introduce ourselves to everyone.

What was the biggest WOW moment of your internship?

I had several WOW moments during my internship, but one of them was definitely when I met with the department I worked with in the spring and they told me they were still using an assignment I completed for them months before. As an intern, it was really awesome to know that you not only completed a project well but that it was also meaningful work that is actually helpful to the company.

Another was when I attended a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing chaired by Senator Josh Hawley on China, Huawei and 5G, and TikTok. It was interesting to listen to at the time, but it was really cool to see clips from the hearing I attended circulating on Instagram and other social media platforms later and being able to tell people I was actually there.

What kind of mentorship did you receive during your internship?

I received a lot of mentorship from my internship. I got to work closely with several people in the government relations department and with others at Fox, and I have continued to keep in contact with them even after completing the internship.

When I worked on my project this summer for Fox Sports, I got to have weekly meetings with our “team experts” who worked in marketing. Every intern was also assigned a mentor this summer, and mine works on a show for Fox News who I have even been able to have a meeting with after the internship ended.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned during your internship?

I learned a lot during this internship, but one valuable lesson is that you are not always going to do everything perfect the first time and that that is okay, especially in a new online work environment. When my group was first working on our project and showed the first draft to our team experts, they gave us a lot of criticism, more than I had ever received on a work related project before, so it definitely hurt the perfectionist in me knowing I did something wrong. However, my group took all of their criticism and improved our project drastically, and the experts were very impressed with our end product. Taking criticism well is very important, and it is very impressive when you do so.

What are three tips you would have for someone else doing an internship there?

My first tip would be to do an internship journal. I heard of the idea first through an FFL article, and it is something I started doing this summer. You will attend many different master classes on a variety of topics, and it is good to look back on the different skills you learned and people you worked with. When you apply to other internships or jobs, it is good to have specifics of what you did written down for reference when editing your resume and cover letter or preparing for an interview. I would also recommend writing down the names of people you worked with, so you can keep in contact and connect with them.

My second tip is to keep in contact with the people you work with and connect with them on Linkedin. Fox introduces you to so many people, and they are all very willing to help you. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them or ask questions.

My third is to be open to everything. This is especially important for a virtual internship because remote work is new for everyone, and you may be doing different work from what you expected. For me, I worked on a project for sports, which is very much outside my field. However, I still learned many valuable skills through this assignment that will be useful to me no matter what I do, such as designing graphics, editing videos, and presenting.

How did this internship being virtual change how it impacted you and your work, especially compared to non-virtual internships you’ve done?

When my work switched from in-person to virtual, it was definitely different. Because I was the only intern in my department and worked in a different office, I did not get to meet the other interns, but when I moved online, I got to work with them on a project and attend master classes with all of the interns. I also got to work with and learn from people in many different areas of Fox, from sports to news to entertainment. While it was definitely different working from home and I was not able to do everything I did in-person, it was still a great experience.

What’s your #1 tip for someone doing a virtual internship?

My advice for doing a virtual internship is to take every opportunity you’re given. While you may not be able to meet people in-person, you are able to meet with many people you wouldn’t have been able to over Zoom. Go to every “optional” event you can, and say yes to as much as possible. Because you’re not in-person, you won’t get the face-to-face interaction you normally get in an internship and do a lot more independent work, so try to take advantage of every opportunity to work with others, so you can get the most out of your experience. 

What’s next for you? How did this internship shape your career plans, your academics, or your idea of what you wanted to do after graduation?

Throughout this internship, I’ve really enjoyed working on Capitol Hill and on different policy issues, and it deepened my interest in public policy. Next semester, I’ll be interning at the Heritage Foundation in the Feulner Institute, and after graduation, I plan on going to grad school for a masters in public policy and maybe a PhD later on.