This is the first in a series examining University of Wisconsin students with internships.

Students at the University of Wisconsin continue to tackle full course loads, extracurricular activities and oftentimes, rewarding jobs on the side. For UW senior Katie MacGuidwin, an internship at SmokeFree Wisconsin has been one such experience.

MacGuidwin, majoring in journalism and political science, has been interning at SmokeFree Wisconsin since fall 2004.

SmokeFree Wisconsin is a lobbying organization dedicated to promoting the prevention of tobacco use, an issue MacGuidwin said she is interested in.

“I know how bad [smoking] is, and how addictive it is,” MacGuidwin said. “I’ve definitely become more passionate about it.”

The internship requires MacGuidwin to work in the office 10 hours a week. Her job entails working in areas such as designing advertisements and fliers as well as drafting fact sheets on current issues.

Although the majority of the project work is done alone, MacGuidwin said she has enjoyed the freedom SmokeFree has offered her.

“It gives you so much leeway to come up with your own creative work,” she said.

Learning to communicate professionally is a skill MacGuidwin said she utilizes on a daily basis and is critical to her line of work. One of the larger projects she undertook was mailing 500 surveys to the 2004 legislative candidates before the fall elections.

During the project, MacGuidwin was in charge of drafting a cover letter and compiling fact sheets with background information on different smoke-free ordinances for the city of Madison.

“You get information and are given the liberty to do with it what you will,” MacGuidwin said. “You have to be resourceful.”

Promoting the issues SmokeFree Wisconsin stands for is a major part of the job, she added. The organization is currently working on an initiative to raise the tobacco tax by $1. This type of work raises awareness regarding smoking, which is something MacGuidwin said she particularly enjoys in her internship.

“[It’s] feeling like your work is going toward something, such as protecting kids from smoking,” MacGuidwin said.

Working as an intern with a full course load may seem like a large feat, but according to MacGuidwin, it is a worthwhile way of spending her time.

On top of taking 14 credits this semester and handling her internship, MacGuidwin also works an additional 20 hours a week as a nanny. The job can be a handful and juggling classes can be “stressful,” but MacGuidwin said she “likes being busy.”

She said her internship is not only a great experience but is also one of few paying internships. SmokeFree Wisconsin pays $7.50 per hour to its interns.

Internships provide a variety of responsibilities and oftentimes provide a great work environment, she added. MacGuidwin said she encourages students looking for an internship to research the company before applying.

“Learn something about the organization to show that you’re interested in what they do,” she said.