Patrick Hodgens '09 (Syracuse, N.Y.) has traded one academic institution for another – at least temporarily. This summer, the rising senior is working as an intern at the Syracuse University Press and learning about the academic publishing industry. Splitting his time between three different departments at the press, he is able to learn about how it functions as a whole.
Although the university press usually does not employ summer interns, Hodgens contacted the press and asked if he could work in an unpaid position, hoping he could get funding from Hamilton. He received a stipend from the Joseph F. Anderson '44 Internship Fund, which provides stipends to support full-time internships for students wishing to expand their educational horizons in preparation for potential careers after graduation.
Hodgens himself is no stranger to summer grants. After his first year, he taught English to refugees with a stipend from the Diversity and Social Justice Project, and last summer he studied language in India with Assistant Professor of Anthropology Chaise LaDousa under a Bristol/Schambach grant. This is his first experience working in an office, however. "It's more different than I expected," he says. "At Hamilton, I'm used to working solo. In an office, it gets more complicated. Being able to get input from a lot of really experienced and knowledgeable people has been great."
At the press, Hodgens moves between the acquisitions, editorial, and marketing departments. For the acquisitions department he focuses mainly on filing and correspondence: "I send out a lot of rejection letters," he says. He also sends invitations for authors to submit manuscripts, as well as requesting outside reviewers and maintaining general correspondence. For the editorial department, Hodgens reviews manuscripts after authors have returned the edited versions, before the manuscripts are sent to design and production, and he reviews page proofs that show the manuscripts as they will look when published. His work for the marketing department includes writing press releases, filing, and assembling lists of publications where review copies will be sent. In addition, his experience reviewing short stories for the minnesota review gave him the chance to review a fiction manuscript for the press, and he also took on the job of writing additional targeted press releases for specific books.
Jumping from department to department can be tough at times, Hodgens says, but it also gives him a chance to see more of the publishing process. "Working in different areas of the Press lets me see a project from a bunch of different angles," he says. "I might check over a manuscript when I'm working for the Editorial department that I wrote a press release for the day before."
In terms of his future career options, Hodgens says that he is strongly considering publishing. "When people back home ask what I'm going to do with my degree, a lot of times they assume I'm going to teach," he says. "A few ask if I want to write – publishing comes in a distant third." He says that those comments, as well as an internship with a Hamilton professor, gave him the idea to pursue publishing. On campus, he works at the Writing Center and on the staff of The Spectator, so he already has some experience in the field.
Hodgens says that when it comes to finding the right internship, the best plan can be to create your own opportunity. "Looking around for established internships is a good way to get started, but don't let it limit you," he says. "Think about what you want to do, then look for an internship. If there isn't one, see if you can earn the college's funding to make your own."
-- by Laura Bramley
Although the university press usually does not employ summer interns, Hodgens contacted the press and asked if he could work in an unpaid position, hoping he could get funding from Hamilton. He received a stipend from the Joseph F. Anderson '44 Internship Fund, which provides stipends to support full-time internships for students wishing to expand their educational horizons in preparation for potential careers after graduation.
Hodgens himself is no stranger to summer grants. After his first year, he taught English to refugees with a stipend from the Diversity and Social Justice Project, and last summer he studied language in India with Assistant Professor of Anthropology Chaise LaDousa under a Bristol/Schambach grant. This is his first experience working in an office, however. "It's more different than I expected," he says. "At Hamilton, I'm used to working solo. In an office, it gets more complicated. Being able to get input from a lot of really experienced and knowledgeable people has been great."
At the press, Hodgens moves between the acquisitions, editorial, and marketing departments. For the acquisitions department he focuses mainly on filing and correspondence: "I send out a lot of rejection letters," he says. He also sends invitations for authors to submit manuscripts, as well as requesting outside reviewers and maintaining general correspondence. For the editorial department, Hodgens reviews manuscripts after authors have returned the edited versions, before the manuscripts are sent to design and production, and he reviews page proofs that show the manuscripts as they will look when published. His work for the marketing department includes writing press releases, filing, and assembling lists of publications where review copies will be sent. In addition, his experience reviewing short stories for the minnesota review gave him the chance to review a fiction manuscript for the press, and he also took on the job of writing additional targeted press releases for specific books.
Jumping from department to department can be tough at times, Hodgens says, but it also gives him a chance to see more of the publishing process. "Working in different areas of the Press lets me see a project from a bunch of different angles," he says. "I might check over a manuscript when I'm working for the Editorial department that I wrote a press release for the day before."
In terms of his future career options, Hodgens says that he is strongly considering publishing. "When people back home ask what I'm going to do with my degree, a lot of times they assume I'm going to teach," he says. "A few ask if I want to write – publishing comes in a distant third." He says that those comments, as well as an internship with a Hamilton professor, gave him the idea to pursue publishing. On campus, he works at the Writing Center and on the staff of The Spectator, so he already has some experience in the field.
Hodgens says that when it comes to finding the right internship, the best plan can be to create your own opportunity. "Looking around for established internships is a good way to get started, but don't let it limit you," he says. "Think about what you want to do, then look for an internship. If there isn't one, see if you can earn the college's funding to make your own."
-- by Laura Bramley
