The Devil Wears Prada is surely one of my favorite movies of all time, so when I was offered a position as an editorial intern at Washington Life Magazine last summer, I eagerly accepted in hopes of being an Andy Sachs-in-training.
Washington Life Magazine is one of the premier DC-based magazines covering social events in the district, fashion, entertainment, cuisine and more. I hoped to spend my summer broadening my horizons in journalism, while also enjoying all that summertime in the nation's capital has to offer—this internship was the perfect combination.
At the magazine, I did anything and a bit of everything related to editorial work. I often was responsible for fact- and name-checking, assisting with social media, writing for the magazine's website, providing a helping hand on photo shoots and attending events that needed to be covered.
Working at Washington Life taught me a great deal about the daily ups and downs of magazine journalism. While there are some glamorous perks, there is still an excruciating amount of behind-the-scenes work. Sometimes my day would comprise of just calling magazine subscribers to update their contact information—a draining but necessary task. Other days I would wrack my brain to think of clever tweets in the morning, and then draft stories until the end of the day. Regardless, I deeply appreciated all that I learned and all I was given the opportunity to try.
My favorite moment of the entire intern experience was when I was invited by the assistant editor, Laura Wainman, to accompany her to the book launch of Revenge Wears Prada, the highly anticipated sequel of The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger. As you may have guessed, I was over the moon. The party was on the roof of the W Hotel and featured a book signing, a DJ, makeovers and food and drink. As I looked out at the skyline of the city, I figured it was the picture perfect ending to an educational and thrilling summer.