By Claire Hong

Running through the streets of New York, Sophia Penske ’13 searched for the subway that would take her to SoHo. As part of her Teen Vogue internship in New York, Penske was sent on runs to public relations companies.

“One of my most memorable experiences is when I was sent on a run in New York to Soho and had to figure out how to take two different subways to get there, and then when I got back to work, they told me I had to go on another run but even further,” she said. “It ended up being a good experience, but at first I was worried and stressed about time and how to get places around the city.”

At Teen Vogue, Penske helped the magazine’s associate editor Andrew Bevan by researching and contacting other designers for the issue.

Penske also had the opportunity to intern in Los Angeles for one month for designer Gregory Parkinson. She helped him with “labor work,” cutting fabric and steaming and tie dying clothes for the designer.

“I have always been really interested in fashion, but I still do not know what field of fashion I enjoy the most,” she said. “That is why I tried two different fields of fashion.”

Melanie Chan ’12 also interned in New York for two weeks, for the fashion website styleite.com, a branch of Mediaite. She worked weekdays for eight hours, writing stories for the blog and researching story ideas. Chan continued her internship when she returned, writing stories from home.

“I enjoyed being able to write about what I love,” Chan said. “I was able to use knowledge that I never thought I’d use, and researching fashion provided an outlet for all that knowledge.”

Chan has been interested in fashion for a couple of years and wanted an opportunity to develop and explore her interest. She picked New York as the ideal place for a fashion internship because “people there tend to be more trend-conscious,” she said.

Like Penske, Catherine Davis ’13 had a fashion internship over the summer for Teen Vogue.

Davis first became interested in fashion three years ago but now realizes she does not want to pursue the subject as a career. She primarily wished to intern for the magazine for the writing experience.

Davis interned everyday throughout the month of July, assisting with photo shoots and helping the staff research and write small stories.

“This is the first time I’ve had real responsibilities,” she said. “I had to deal with strict deadlines and it certainly helped develop my work ethic.”