Meet Ed’s Summer 2012 Trust Fund Winner: Meaghan O’Connor

An estimated 70+ wide-eyed whippersnappers from all over the country — and even some from overseas — gathered at NYC’s Boat Basin Cafe for Ed’s annual Intern Party on June 5. Interns from magazines like Lucky, Teen Vogue, and TV Guide schmoozed indoors to avoid the light drizzle on a warm, Tuesday evening.

Amid all of the fun, Ed on Campus Director Karen Snyder Duke announced this summer’s Trust Fund winner: Meaghan O’Connor, a marketing intern at Food Network Magazine. Meaghan was commended not only for her creative cover page (more about that in a sec), but for her punctuality — she was also the first to hand in an application! Ed chatted with the University of Michigan rising senior to get the scoop on her internship and dream gig after graduation.

Ed: Congratulations! So tell us: What are your summer plans?
Meaghan O’Connor: Thank you so much! I’m living at New York University, taking a class, and doing an internship at Food Network Magazine. When my class ends in July, I’ll be picking up another internship for She’s the First, a non-profit organization. (Ed note: Ed’s summer 2010 trust fund winner Christen Brandt is the co-founder of STF!)

Ed: How do you like FNM so far?
MO: I love it! I’m meeting so many awesome people. My favorite part is attending meetings and absorbing everything that [the staff] is saying. I’m a marketing intern, so I put together packages of information to send to our advertising clients. It’s been an awesome experience, especially being in the Hearst Tower.

Ed: Kudos on your impressive application! Why do you think it stood out?
MO: I had a cover page and made it look like the Ed2010 logo and I put my face in the middle — super dorky — but it looked cool. I’m also a decent writer, so I like to think that my writing impressed them. I talked a lot about how I’m the first in my family to come to New York City and how everyone back home was so surprised that I had the courage to do this by myself. I came here alone, so I told them how I excited I was to be here. Hopefully it will be a great experience!

Ed: Has Ed helped you in the past?
MO: Oh yeah! I find all of my internship postings there. I think this event is incredible; I’ve met so many awesome people already. It’s nice to feel connected because in the magazine industry, I think, it’s so easy to get lost. It’s nice that people care about magazines like I do — that feeling of inclusion is nice.

Ed: What advice do you have for future Trust Fund applicants?
MO: Find a way to stand out. Write from the heart and tell them why this internship means so much to you. Tell them why you’re great and how you’ll make a difference in New York City.

Ed: How will this check help you?
MO: I think it’s going to be so nice not having to worry about how I’m going to pay for food and things like that. All of those things run through my mind as my checking account gets smaller and smaller because it’s so expensive to live here. It will help me invest my time and energy into my internship because that’s why I’m here. This will take a huge weight off of my shoulders.

Ed: Do you have a dream job?
MO: I’m still testing the waters between marketing and editorial; I’ve always been a writer, but the marketing side deals a lot more with interacting with people, which I like. I think FNM is great; I’d love to end up there. I don’t think you can go wrong with Hearst!

PLUS: Want some free advice on becoming the intern of your editor’s dreams? Follow Ed’s Intern Diaries to see what our 5 exclusive bloggers are doing right (and sometimes horribly wrong)!