SUMMARY: In this episode, Melissa provides insightful information about internships by talking about her diverse experience in the journalism and entertainment industry. She discusses the different ways one can access internships, the inequities behind internship opportunities, and the importance of work experience and networks in one’s post college career. Victoria and Melissa bring the conversation back to DEI by reflecting on the fact that many internships, especially those that are unpaid, are disproportionately inaccessible to low income students. (2/15/2022)

Melissa Cho is a bilingual multimedia creative—a journalist, producer-director, and editor (she can’t help but have her hand in several honey pots). Her passion for telling stories stemmed from her high school interests in both journalism and theatre performance. Just recently, she directed and co-hosted an original food pilot at Jubilee Media, a GenZ/millennial-obsessed media company with over 7 million YouTube subscribers. She is currently a freelance associate producer for Condé Nast Entertainment, the mass media company that houses iconic brands such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, GQ, and more.
A lover of digital web content and documentary-style storytelling, Melissa has experience with researching stories, creating news scripts, producing, social media management, editorial and social media design, filming, and video/audio editing. Some of her latest journalism work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2020 Mark of Excellence Awards. She has been featured on British Vogue, Jubilee Media, and VoyageLA. Her Myers-Brigg is ESFJ (“People Mastery”), so producing human-interest pieces is her jam.