Grady Alumna Feature: Claire Hensley

Claire Hensley (AB ’24) graduated from Grady in May with a B.A. in Public Relations, a Certificate in New Media Technology, and double minors in General Business and Dance. Following her graduation, she was selected as one of just 38 fellows from a pool of 1,700 applicants for the prestigious 2024 IRTS Summer Fellowship. This 9-week, all-expenses-paid program provides participants with a comprehensive understanding of the media industry, opportunities to sharpen their professional skills, and the chance to build their network while interning at a leading media company in New York City.

Read on about her experience.

Describe your fellowship and what you did.

The first week was orientation week where we toured  renowned media companies including NBCUniversal, HBO Max, Google, Good Morning America, Fox Corporation, The Trade Desk, , Paramount , Day One Agency, Carat, Scripps News and more! The week consisted of networking, meeting with past fellows, hearing from speakers, etc. During the next 8 weeks all of us fellows interned at the places we were matched with by the program. I interned at Locality, which is a leader in streaming and broadcast advertising that unlocks the power of local. Locality offers the largest source of local streaming and broadcast advertising inventory in the U.S., enabling unparalleled reach among key audiences in target markets. I rotated between marketing, research, and sales teams. During these 8 weeks, we continued touring companies before and after work, hitting Spotify, The New York Stock Exchange, TVB, VidMob, Disney, etc.

What aspects of the IRTS Fellowship program were most appealing to you when applying?

The program offers an all-expenses-paid experience that includes round-trip travel to and from NYC (via air, train, or reimbursed driving mileage), housing in a shared suite at a downtown Manhattan university dorm, and a paid internship at a leading New York media company. Fellows participate in an immersive Orientation Week, gaining access to industry leaders and company visits. Weekly events feature panels, speaker sessions, and professional development opportunities, with career counseling, mentoring, and access to the extensive IRTS network for optimal career growth and networking. The connections we are given access to IRTS alum contact information from the 1970’s to now, and they are all willing to mentor and help. The company visits allow us to hear from high-up executives in the company and make our name known to them, while also connecting to past fellows who work there.

What skills and knowledge How did your academic and professional background prepare you for this type of program?

My past internships at KPMG, Talking Dog Agency, and the Office of Global Engagement all had transferable professional skills that apply to my current internship. Academically, being a public relations major prepared me well for the marketing, research, and sales rotational role. Although I’ve learned how to do this job while I’ve been here, general writing, design, and hard skills are nice to have.

What steps did you take to make your application stand out among the high number of applicants?

The application goes in-depth to who you are, your background, your goals, and where you want to be one day. Since IRTS is dedicated to diversifying the media industry, I made my application personal to my family and background. I also applied multiple times – the fellowship only accepts 38-40 fellows and gets around 1,700 + applicants.

What is one project you worked on during the fellowship that you are proud of?

My first article was published! I loved joining my internship during Locality’s most exciting week their one-year anniversary! After assisting with submissions across 11 offices and participating in activities here in NYC, I gained first-hand experience with the company dynamics and culture, observing how colleagues engage and interact with each other.

I enjoyed learning about team members’ backgrounds and personalities from various offices, from hometown fun fact submissions to baby photos and dynamic duo costumes.

At the end of the summer,  I hosted the third edition of Locality LIVE, presenting “What is Locality” to my fellow IRTS interns and engaging in a Q&A with Locality’s Micah Minter and Anthony J. Greene. It was a great opportunity for networking and sharing ideas between seasoned Locality team members and future media pros.

 How do you see the IRTS Fellowship and the Locality internship complementing each other in your career development?

 How do you see the IRTS Fellowship and the Locality internship complementing each other in your career development?

How did you find out about the fellowship?

I attended one of Grady’s guest speaker events with Kevin Schatell, a producer for the TODAY show, and when sharing his journey about moving from Georgia to New York, he told us about the IRTS foundation and how the foundation helped support his move.

What advice do you have for someone applying to a similar fellowship?

Share your unique story! With over 1,700 applicants and only 38 chosen, you have to stand out in your essays. Also, get comfortable applying for multiple years in a row. I applied for 3.

Editor: Shannon Lorusso; sel67411@uga.edu