Bethany George '15 always knew she wanted to pursue journalism, and when George received a Park Scholar award at Ithaca College, it cemented her decision to come to South Hill.
In her time at IC, the Red Lodge, Montana, native participated in numerous journalistic endeavors. George interned at a Boston radio station and at a documentary internship at the IC London campus. She also worked for WICB and The Ithacan.
The summer after her junior year, George interned with CNN’s documentary unit in New York City, and she was very interested in returning to CNN to work full-time after she graduated. However, she was turned away because she did not have enough experience at the time.
Instead, she took a job at CBS This Morning where she worked for 10 months producing breaking news stories for on-air. Armed with industry experience, George returned to CNN where she is currently an associate producer for the CNN documentary unit. One of the programs George worked on was the Emmy Award-winning documentary, Separated: Saving the Twins.
George said the work she does might cover any topics, from medical to political, from true crime to human interest. The documentaries on which she works can take up to a few months, but she says is never bored. “It’s slow enough so that it definitely feels like documentary,” said George. “But it’s quick enough so that it’s super exciting. Each day is completely different. My job is never mundane, which is really awesome.”
She says working for CNN has prepared her for being a part of the hustle of the journalism world. “One of the most valuable lessons I learned early on was that if you’re going to be somebody who is willing to take on any challenge that comes your way with positivity and diligence, then you’re going to stand out from the crowd,” said George.
George said that IC does a great job of teaching confidence and the skills students need for starting their first jobs. She said the hands-on experiences she received in classes prepared her for producing content over several different mediums, and those skills have been largely beneficial to her in the industry.