The Communications Fellow spent the past two summers interning with the Big Ten Network and now has her first documentary production credit under her belt.
For Miranda Burgos ’28, pursuing journalism doesn’t necessarily mean following a traditional path. The Elon junior didn’t want to fit into a certain box, so when she saw an opening last summer for a video production assistant internship in her hometown in Central Illinois, she applied – and landed the role.
The opportunity introduced Burgos to a different side of storytelling. Working with the Big Ten Network, a national sports network dedicated to coverage of Big Ten Conference athletics, she gained hands-on experience setting up and shooting content ranging from interviews to b-roll. Most importantly, she contributed to several documentary projects.
Nearly a year later, she can finally share what she worked on last summer – a short documentary highlighting the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s rich history of agricultural innovation and discovery. The film premiered on the network on July 8; a fact Burgos celebrated on LinkedIn.
With the documentary now available on YouTube, Burgos has been able to show her family the finished product, including her father, who was “super excited” for her.
“He’s taking a picture of my credit,” Burgos laughed.
This summer the Elon junior interned again with the Big Ten Network and her role expanded. She’s gotten to participate in some shoots, review video archives and work on another documentary. While she cannot disclose the subjects yet, she helped colleagues interview several high-profile Illinois alumni.
“I think I really just got to dip my toes in last summer,” she said. “And there are always so many more stories still to be told.”
Burgos’ willingness to explore different sides of journalism reflects the path she took at Elon, where she didn’t declare her major until her sophomore year. Before settling on journalism, she took advantage of that flexibility to explore different areas within the School of Communications.
That exploration included working on a student film set as a grip, an equipment technician who supports a production.
“If you know about something in your community that you might be interested in getting involved in. Don’t be afraid to reach out.”
– Miranda Burgos ’28
As a Communications Fellow, Burgos and the rest of her first-year cohort traveled to Florida, where they shadowed professionals and toured companies representing different areas of the communications and sport industries. Burgos said it helped her realize that graduating with a journalism degree didn’t necessarily mean she had to work at a newspaper or broadcast station.
“I was still undecided at that time, but no matter what I picked, my options were maybe more open than I was imagining,” Burgos said.
Experiences like the Florida trip eventually helped push her to submit her application to the Big Ten Network.
The internship also brought its own challenges. Burgos said she had to learn to be more adaptable as shoots would get rescheduled or canceled altogether. Once she became accustomed to the unpredictability, however, it became one of her favorite parts of the internship.
“Things can get moved, things can just pop out of nowhere, but it kind of felt like an adventure,” she said. “It has been so much fun.”
This fall, Burgos will study abroad in Spain. When she returns, she plans to continue exploring her options as a journalism major.