Hello Everyone-
Derek and Romaine here with an update on the DNR Studios Internship program! As you know every fall we do our annual fundraiser to help continue to grow and expand our internship program. We would love for your continued support. So please make a DONATION today. This year, we have seen some changes to our internship program. In the spring of 2023, we made the decision to close our NYC studio location moving to small home studios in upstate NY and NJ. The New Jersey studio at Romaine’s home is still used to record several of our DNR Studios shows including: OJNB the Podcast, Cookie Jar, and The Dildo Whisperer. Even though we have moved to a very different kind of studio location set up we are still as dedicated as ever to our internship program. Earlier in the year we had interns with us in NYC and we had 7 interns over the summer. We are currently actively recruiting a new production intern and are already looking at the internship program for the Spring of 2024.
The biggest change to our program is our ability to help the Ali Forney clients. Obviously, we are very dedicated to giving LGBTQ youth an opportunity to learn and grow into future LGBTQ media professionals. Without a studio in NYC we are not currently able to accommodate the Ali Forney Clients as interns. However, we are coming up with ways that we can continue to support the Ali Forney Center as we strongly believe in their services. We are also exploring LGBTQ internship opportunities near our NJ studio location. Romaine recently met with an organization near her studio that focuses on struggling LGBTQ youth. They are in talks to see if there is a way that DNR Studios can provide internship opportunities to their clients similar to what we have done with the Ali Forney Center.
Our goal is to continue to serve as many interns annually as we can. We currently have 4 branches to our intern program:
- Production Interns – These are often students from an audio engineering school. We work with Romaine’s former school (Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences) and SAE located in NYC. Some of our LGBTQ interns will participate as Production Interns.
- PR/Social Media Interns- These are students who are studying, communications, journalism, marketing and PR. Additionally, we are expanding this branch to include graphic design students.
- Tech Interns- These are students who are studying in various fields related to IT, Coding and App development. Many of these students come from our partnership with the City College of NY who help provide us with students that specialize in the areas of tech we require. We continue to get very high rankings from these students of our tech internship program.
- Media Interns- This intern branch is specifically designed for our LGBTQ Youth who are looking to learn a bit of everything. It is designed for a podcasting/ production novice to learn a wide range of practical skills.
Many of these internship branches are designed to work remotely or at our NJ studio location. Every intern has dedicated weekly meetings to go over projects and work directly with Derek or Romaine. We have also utilized former interns as a means of mentorship for our newest additions. We found that past interns were eager to pass on the skills and knowledge they learned at DNR Studios creating a community of learning and sharing.
Overall, we are incredibly proud of the internship program at DNR Studios and we look forward to providing new opportunities for students and LGBTQ youth to learn about our industry in a very hands on way. We strive to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all our interns and we always appreciate the skills they bring to our small company. Your donations during the Season of Giving and all year long make it possible for us to ensure that every internship is paid for their time and that every intern has the tools they need to learn and succeed.
Please consider making a DONATION today. You can make a one-time donation or you can sign up for reoccurring monthly donations. Don’t forget if your company makes matching charitable donations we can help you set that up as well. We want to thank all of our listeners who help make the DNR Studios Internship possible. You have and continue to make an impact on these young people’s lives and we appreciate each and everyone of you.
-Derek and Romaine