by Mark Yates, graduate student

When Jonas Allen stepped into the sultry June air of Greensboro, NC to start working for Pace Communications, he looked forward to a summer doing what many interns do: running errands, making photocopies, filing papers and editing text.

Then he caught his break.

While playing gopher at The Hemispheres Entertainment Preview, United Airlines' in-flight guide to music and movies that is operated by Pace, Allen proved to be in the right place at the right time when the editor announced the magazine was missing a story. Quickly volunteering to write the short profile, Allen snagged his first opportunity to write for a non-student publication.

He spent that evening searching the Internet for information on actor Tim Allen. The next day he turned his research into a 130-word character sketch.

The following month, Allen wrote six more sketches. When the regular "Behind the Scenes" writer moved on to other projects, Allen's editor, Jaci Ponzoni, gave the young writer a chance to impress her with a 600-word feature.

And impress her he did. Every month, he writes about the production of a UA-featured film for the passengers who pay for United's five star service.

It's the kind of freelancing gig fresh journalism graduates dream about -- only Allen is not a graduate, he still has another year of course work in the School of Journalism and Communication before he gets his diploma.

Allen was apprehensive when he first considered a summer internship. Although he had worked as an art associate for Flux, he had yet to take any writing classes beyond Reporting I.

"I did write a column every other week for The Emerald," Allen said, "but the editors let me say whatever I wanted and it was all opinion."

Because of his limited experience, when it came time to apply for internships, Allen was sure he would get rejection letters from publications such as Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly.

Still, he knew he needed real world experience if he ever wanted to get a job writing and editing after graduation. So after overhearing another student talk about in-flight magazines, Allen wrote a few letters, made a few calls and created a position for himself at Hemispheres' parent company, Pace Communications, which also publishes magazines for Delta Airlines and Radisson Hotels.

This fall, back in classes at UO, Allen is eager to use the School's writing and editing courses to sharpen his skills. He feels the feedback from professors with professional experience and other students will prove invaluable in helping him to improve his writing. He also hopes the clips he's continues to generate will pave the way to another internship.

I'd love to get one on the West Coast at some place like Sierra or Sunset," Allen said. "But I'll go back East if I have to."