Apprentice in Community-Driven Solutions Strategic Communication and Community Engagement
Job Description
The progression of the student鈥檚 role in CoH will mirror their academic learning in the academic program, allowing the student to explore in practice the knowledge, skills and techniques learned in different classes. This will not only reinforce their learning, but allow the student to critically analyze their learning process and put it to the test in real-world situations.
In working with other students, this program will also allow the student to receive direct mentorship, at first, and become a mentor as they mature into their leadership roles during the three years.
The program is designed to provide a supervised and protected but real and meaningful microcosm of a professional communicator鈥檚 career with each year representing a different stage of development. That will allow the student to be fully ready not only for the job market, but also to excel in the management of their professional life, being able to make choices and use their entrepreneurial skills to go beyond simply accepting a job, but becoming an actual leader in an industry that is currently being revolutionized by the community-driven and solutions-oriented approach we use in CoH.
Year 1
Responsibility/Function
The student hired for this position will work directly with the program Communities of Hope (CoH) learning how to strategize an integrated communication program and engage with communities for a community-driven, solutions-oriented news organization. The student will work on a specific project at a time, developing it as part of a team consisting of more experienced students and under the supervision of Dr. Bernardo H. Motta.
During the first year, the student will work much like an intern in public relations, learning the basics of research, relationship- building and engagement with the community, interviewing, reporting, audiovisual media production fact-checking, and story and project development. The student will also be able to network with professional communicators all around the world through the Solutions Journalism Network, Gather (a network of communication professionals and academics working with community-driven engagement), Society of Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters & Editors, the Society of Environmental Journalists, the Public Relations Society of America, the Public Relations Student Society of America, just to name a few.
As part of the Communities of Hope program, the student will also be working closely with local professional communicators, organizers, and engagement audience experts in helping them produce community-driven and solutions-oriented products and historical and cultural projects for the most vulnerable and marginalized communities in Rhode Island.
Year 2
Responsibility/Function
During the second year, the student will start learning more about the strategic integrated communication processes of Communities of Hope, engaging in audience analyses, focus groups, metrics, community engagement feedback loops, distribution and publication, in addition to learning strategic leadership skills such as assignments choices and distribution, content editing, copyediting, community and media relations, ethical and legal liabilities, and project development.
As the student works on their general knowledge about the public relations and engagement journalism industry, they will also be trained in advanced community building techniques such as depolarization, engagement sustainability, and audiovisual production.
During this year, the student will be required to be much more reflective of their role as communicators working with local communities and the impact they have in each interaction.
In this stage, the student will continue to work with a team of other students and under the supervision of Dr. Motta, but now in a more advanced role, including mentoring the new FIT student who will be in their first year. All the processes, learning opportunities and networking from the first year will continue, but with a more advanced aspect to it.
Year 3
Responsibility/Function
During the third year, the student will assume a leadership position in CoH, being able to pick assignments, develop a project, and coordinating a team of students to research, produce, and distribute campaigns and projects from beginning to end.
The student will be responsible for mentoring other students, and taking the lead in project development. During this year, the student will learn more about management, budgeting, leadership skills, developing collaborations and partnerships, and all the knowledge necessary to start their own organization or to manage their own career.
At the same time the student will have more freedom to choose and develop their own projects, they will also have more time with leading professionals in the field, participating in decision-making meetings with Dr. Motta and editors and managers of local media outlets, community leaders, and other decision makers relevant to their careers.
At this point, the student will be encouraged to participate fully in at least one professional association, independently seek resources from those associations to further their knowledge and careers, and submit their work to competitions and awards.
*Students are prohibited from driving during work-study employment with the limited exception of authorized work-study driver positions.