Grace VanKirk was a CSUB senior interested in book editing but didn’t have the professional experience or connections it can take to land a job in publishing.
Jon Bashor was a CSUB alum with four decades of experience in journalism and communications, and a desire to help young people like her succeed.
They came together through the `Runner Alumni Mentor Program, and an email from VanKirk to Bashor five months later sums up the great result.
“Just wanted to let you know that I got the internship with KIDPRESSROOM!” VanKirk wrote March 5. “ I'll be editing blog articles and she'll also be teaching me about branding and marketing.
“Thank you for all the help you've given me. My mom saw my resume and was impressed with how professional you've helped me make it. I wouldn't have made so much progress without your expert guidance.”
Kidpressroom is a website featuring articles, reviews and resources about children’s literature, and VanKirk will be editing its content. The six-month position is unpaid but otherwise exactly what someone in her position needs, according to Bashor: an opportunity to meet people, experience to add to a resume, and exposure to different career fields.
Maybe she’ll find branding and marketing more exciting than editing, he said.
“The broader experience you get with an internship, the more skills you will learn,” Bashor said. “But maybe it will take you in a new direction, either soon or over time.”
VanKirk grew up in Tehachapi and will graduate from CSUB with an English degree in May. Bashor earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from CSUB in 1977 and after eight years in newspapering worked in communications for U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories in the Bay area.
The secret to their successful pairing? They got started right away after matching, connected at least once a month (mostly by phone and email), and tackled a series of specific assignments.
They tweaked her resume – moving her experience editing CSUB magazines to the top – and cover letters – opening with an engaging first line, tightening up the content, and finding the right balance between bragging and underselling.
They also created a LinkedIn profile for VanKirk that she’s using to connect with more and more people in publishing.
“When you apply for a job, ideally it’s not the first time a recruiter has seen your name,” Bashor said.
Bashor also put VanKirk in touch with people he knew in editing, including a favorite editor at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and with New York Times best-selling author and CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame inductee Kathleen O’Neal Gear. They all told her the same thing.
“Everyone I talked to encouraged me to apply for internships because that’s how they got started,” VanKirk said. “It was a huge help to hear that.”
She applied for 10 internships and secured one – typical in the real world.
Her advice to students considering applying for a mentor?
“Definitely do it,” she said. “It’s definitely worth the time and effort, you’ll get a lot out of it,” she said.
And Bashor’s message for an alum considering mentoring?
“It’s really great to see someone come along and get an internship or a first job,” Bashor said. “If you can help be part of that, it’s cool."
We will be accepting applications for the 2021-2022 cycle of the `Runner Alumni Mentor Program this summer. In the meantime, if you are an alum who would like to informally flash mentor students online, join `RunnerBridge, out networking and mentoring website.
.jpeg?auto=webp)
.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)
/1x.jpeg?auto=webp)