Summer means different things to different students. For senior communication major Savana Ciavatta, this summer has been an opportunity to tackle those daunting, but incredibly helpful, internships that precede graduation.

“My venture to become a broadcast journalist has led me to East Lansing for the summer,” Ciavatta said.

Ciavatta is currently interning at HOMTV in Meridian Township.

“It’s very unfortunate that both Macomb and Oakland County do not offer anything like this,” Ciavatta said.

Although her job title states intern, Ciavatta has the same duties as a paid employee. She writes, edits and shoots her own video.

“I appear on camera regularly which is more than interns at channel 2, 4 or 7 can say,” Ciavatta said.

While growing up, Ciavatta enjoyed watching the news.

“I thought it was so intriguing how the news anchors would report the news and sound so knowledgeable doing so,” Ciavatta said.

As a young girl, she liked to pretend she was a news anchor.

“I used to stand in front of a mirror and use a doll as my microphone and mimic news anchors when I was a child,” Ciavatta said.

Taking public speaking classes in high school and college only deepened her love for broadcast.

“Once I started my TV classes and became involved with OUTV, things really began to take off,” Ciavatta said.

Ciavatta explained that  it has  been her dream to get a reporting job in a mid-sized market in Michigan.

“I’m a hometown girl, so landing a job in Michigan would be ideal,” she said.

Including HOMTV, Ciavatta will have completed five internships while studying at OU.

In 2011, she was awarded the Channel 7-WXYZ broadcasting scholarship. Through that opportunity, she met the 2010 winner who told her about the internship at HOMTV.

Brian Dumont, senior production manager and internship coordinator at HOMTV said Ciavatta works hard and is consistently looking for ways to improve the quality of her stories.

“She is a leader among her peers and has completed her internship requirements well ahead of schedule,” Dumont said.

He said Ciavatta was persistent but not overbearing.

“She continued to foster a business relationship that displayed a high caliber work ethic,” Dumont said.

OU alumni, Montezz Allen worked with Ciavatta on OUTV’s Sideline Sports Wrap.

Allen said she is very ambitious and motivated.

“She’s smart, knows her sports, easy going and easy to get along with,” he said.

Ciavatta advises students to take advantage of internships.

“I know most internships are unpaid, which really turns off students, but everyone has to start somewhere,” she said.

—

Contact Multimedia Reporter Misha Mayhand via email at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @Mac_Me_Over