Join our global team and gain experience, grow in confidence and build your network.
Our most recent intern was Lonnie Hastings, a Senior at NC State University. We sat down with him to talk about his time at Generation Atomic.
Tell us a bit about yourself
My name is Lonnie Hastings and I am a Senior at NC State University, majoring in Communication Media. I started working with Generation Atomic as a Communications Intern in June of 2020, and what was planned to be a 3-month internship ended up spanning 7 months, ending in January of 2021. I loved working with Eric and the Generation Atomic team, it was both a pleasure and a learning experience.
Why is nuclear energy important to you?
I’m passionate about climate change and finding solutions to the world’s energy problems, as it’s become one of the largest issues on the table these days. My mother is a science teacher, and my dad a nuclear engineer, so I would say a lot of what Generation Atomic stands for was instilled in me from a young age. I realized I was aware of how valuable nuclear energy is to the world, and that working with Generation Atomic would allow me to help “spread the word”, so to speak. By utilizing nuclear energy, we can quite literally save the world, and Generation Atomic clearly knows that, and that is why I loved working with them.
What did you learn interning with Gen A that will help you in your career?
I learned a lot about managing a social media account for an organization during this internship. By working with Eric, I was able to figure out what exactly the “voice” of Generation Atomic was, and turned it into Tweets, Facebook posts, videos, etc.
This internship definitely helped me with my writing skills for social media, as I never had much experience with communicating directly with an audience through these mediums. I was able to both develop and refine my skills, all while creating original content that I can say that I’m proud of.
What would you say you are most proud of from your time at Generation Atomic?
One of my favorite pieces of content that Eric and I produced was this video about how long the world could run on exclusively nuclear energy. It was really cool to be able to take information outlined in a super dense article, and work it into something that the general public would notice or get excited about. The process of editing and tweaking until we had just the right voice for Generation Atomic was a great learning experience for me. To be able to start from an article and end with a bright and informative video is a great feeling.
Tell me one thing you learned that surprised you.
Not to keep talking about the same video, but I actually did not know just how efficient nuclear energy was before this internship. I knew a bit about the industry, but I did not know that we had enough resources on earth for nuclear energy to power us for billions of years. Those kinds of facts that I learned along the way played a big part in motivating me to continue my work with Generation Atomic, because I knew I could surprise someone else with those same facts.
What was it like working with Gen A?
Working with Eric is fantastic, because he’s so approachable and flexible, all while making sure that things get done and squared away. Eric is a collaborative powerhouse, which is definitely reflected in the way Generation Atomic gets things done. I always felt like I was operating as part of a team, and Eric was the coach. It was truly a great experience, one I will never forget.
Tell us what’s next for you after Gen A.
I’ll be graduating in May 2021, and my hope is to end up working with digital media or social media in some sort of production format. I’ll be taking some classes this semester to continue learning about digital media, and also to improve on my production and editing skills. I’ve definitely thought about doing some sort of advocacy work post-graduation, whether it’s with Generation Atomic, or for some other issue I’m passionate about. I would love the opportunity to create content again like I did with Gen A, so that’s the route I’m trying to take.
Think you could be the next Gen A intern?
Generation Atomic is currently accepting applications for three new internship positions, focused on communications, policy, and outreach efforts. If you’re a college student or recent graduate looking to build some work experience, apply here.
