Red Hearts' News

By Cindy Morand, 22, reporting from New York, NY, on how to make an internship pay

I hear you. The toughest thing about an internship is that it is nearly by definition unpaid. As someone who's done several of these, I know that's frustrating, and for some people, just unworkable.

If you can pull it off financially, it's all true what they tell you about gaining valuable experience.

And perhaps even a paying job at the end.

Plus, internships are about exploration, a career-starting chance to test-drive a workplace or entire industry you might not even know existed. My favorite site for information on internships­—they rank hundreds—is here. There's even a "Top 10 Most Unusual Experiences" category. (NASA or Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, anyone?)

Should you find yourself in a seriously air-conditioned office this summer—I'm at the Federal Reserve—here are a few quick strategies (if not paychecks) I've picked up toward making the most of your internship:

Find a Mentor, Make Friends. I strongly encourage you to network with colleagues in your department, as you can learn about the different roles in your area—and people like it when you share a passion for what they happen to have chosen to do with their lives. A pro you connect with is apt to teach you tons and champion you in their industry (or at least write you a letter of reference).

Look Smart. Always appearing professional goes beyond the obvious about no revealing clothes or flip-flops. Wear jewelry that people can see not hear. Surprise them by being the most, rather than the least, conservative dresser in your department. Skip the perfume, because you never know who the person next to you will associate with a particular scent. Always have a pen and notebook on you; take notes.

Ask Questions (But Not Too Many). I know you are smart, but you are not supposed to know everything and employers are aware of that. If something is unclear, ask, in this order: the Internet, a trusted colleague or your supervisor. Google goes first. Only direct questions to your manager if you cannot find answers elsewhere, or you truly don't understand unless you get the information first-hand. Look up terms you don't know. Believe me, I did not enter this internship speaking Federal Reserve. I've recently Googled "P&I," "collaterized debt obligation (CDO)" and "healthcare reimbursements," and no one's the wiser but me.

Use Social Media for Good—Not Gossip. Coming from your generation, you might have more social media knowledge than some of your older colleagues; if this is the case, volunteer your expertise. However, never put anything about your job on the Internet—no tweeting, no Facebook posting, no blogging. Just don't. It lives there forever, the CEO of your company can read it, and you want to impress them with the same integrity and discretion you demonstrate in the real world office.

By Meike Schleiff, 23, reporting from Renick, West Virginia, on an amazing U.S.-Haiti organization—that she started

For those of you who've ever dreamed about being able to spend your time working on some wild fantasy project, but never truly thought that it could become a reality, here is a pseudo-success story!

No fanfare or princess-worthy wedding or instant glory or any of that. But something that seems to be truly working out.

When I graduated from college in 2008, I decided to travel to Haiti as a volunteer. It's like when your aunt says you just need to apply yourself and you can do anything you want to. I didn't really believe it would change anything until I did it.

That first trip to Haiti to teach English has since grown into a nonprofit organization that I founded and now direct, The GROW Project.

It includes a bunch of young (and older) folks in Haiti and in West Virginia, who are working together on a local level to understand and solve problems that each community is facing—mostly around health care and education.

Most of all though, we've made friends between a lot of people who at first weren't sure they had anything in common. In our world—where space, resources, and time have to be shared between more and more people—we need to make the effort to understand each other better.

If this is the kind of thing that appeals to you, you have a personal invitation from me to visit our site and drop me a line to let me know how you'd like to be involved. That might even mean taking your own destiny-changing trip to Haiti, as we have two coming up—in July to help build classrooms and in December with an international youth exchange and language program.

But whatever you believe is important, there are ways to make it as close to the center of your life as you'd like it to be. And if you take action, trust that you'll find others who feel the same about an issue and are more than willing to give you a hand.

As Paul Hawken wrote, "You are brilliant and the earth is hiring." Apply now.

By Zoe Mendelson, 20, reporting from Buenos Aires, Argentina, on the best shared beverage in the Americas

Here in Buenos Aires, they look at you funny if you ask for your coffee to go. They'll giggle at the silly tourist if they see you walking around holding a little paper cup. This seems odd to me, considering their beverage of choice involves carrying a container of loose leaves, a gourd, a metal straw and a giant thermos of hot water.

This is mate: just about the most ubiquitous thing in Argentina.

If you're a North American who wants to try a hot drink with more ritual than anything you get at Starbucks, two things to know—it's pronounced mah-tay, and you can get a whole range of products here.

Yerba mate, the plant from which mate is prepared, is a species of holly. The leaves and parts of the branches are dried and steeped in hot water inside a gourd and sipped from a metal straw that has a filter at the bottom. It has more caffeine than coffee, and more antioxidants than green tea.

But what's really special about it is that mate is for sharing, in a ceremonious, social custom. One person does the serving, pouring the water and then handing it to the person on their right. That person then drinks it to the bottom and hands it back to the server, who fills it for the next person. Everyone shares the same straw and nobody bats an eye about it. Also, if you say "gracias" when the mate is handed to you it means, "no thanks."

Drinking mate is more sensory than drinking coffee or regular tea. You carefully pour the water in at an angle, so as not to wet all of the leaves at once. Then you watch the leaves hydrate and expand. You hear them crackling in the hot water, and you hear the slurping up of air bubbles every time someone finishes a gourd.

Mate has a strong, bitter, very vegetal flavor that takes some getting used to. But don't worry, the Argentines aren't adverse to adding sugar. "Mate dulce, para amarga es la vida," they say, which means, "Sweet mate, for life is bitter."

By Jessica Goodman, 21, reporting from Los Angeles on her favorite broadcast journalists

Getting ready for school in the mornings, middle school through high school, my brothers and I would watch the Today show. It made me want to become a journalist, and it made Katie Couric one of my role models. As a team, she and Matt Lauer were Olivia and Elliot on Law & Order: SVU to me.

I was there watching when Katie Couric left Today to become the first female network evening news anchor, and Meredith Viera took over for her. Now they are both stepping down—or up—from their top-of-the-spectrum jobs to pursue new things. It's like the news pros want to make news themselves.

These two women had dream jobs, or at least my idea of dream jobs. So their decisions to move on reminds me that dreams change from time to time; people change as well. And you can't always listen to other people or public opinion.

Like Katie Couric, girls need to continue to follow their dreams. Today, we get to experience fourth-wave feminism through the Internet. We've been so fortunate to be the first generation to see a woman run for president, the first woman Speaker of the House and the first woman solo evening news anchor.

Five years after Couric hit that milestone, she is surely bound for another. She recently came out with a book, The Best Advice I Ever Got: Lessons From Extraordinary Lives. It's a collection of first-hand stories from women (and men) we all look up to. It's about being brave enough to change your life to try the next thing, whatever you're compelled to do.

You might want to start Today.

By RED editor Amy Goldwasser, who interviewed a blogger she loves on the LGBT life in New York City

Love-not-hate for Valentine's Day. Pretty basic stuff—you'd think it would be easy, right? But you'd also think, Who could possibly vote against this guy's most powerful, heartfelt presentation in defense of same-sex marriage to the Iowa House of Representatives? Well, it's never easy to overcome prejudice or have to worry about how people perceive you in this world (and who hasn't been there?), especially when you're staring down a new set of strangers in a new city at a new school. The transition can be even tougher if you're gay. Meg Dukes, 18, author of the awesome Meg in the City blog on Matthew's Place, a cool, useful and above all, safe place for young members of the LGBT community, writes a winning, first-hand chronicle of her life, from coming out as a high school student in rural Colorado to sorting out the shift to college freshman at NYU. Meg assures us that—like the slush covering her current hometown—it gets better.

How did you discover Matthew's Place—or how did they discover you?
There was a program for all seniors in my high school that would connect us with various local businesses and organizations in our fields of interest for internships, and I was introduced to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. I will admit I had not previously heard about MSF or knew who Matt was before applying to be their fall intern. That grew into a summer internship and the blog.

What would you blog back to yourself now in your unincorporated county in rural Colorado? Advice on feeling less alone?
I would tell myself just hang on a little bit longer—you will make it to college and it will be everything you expect it to be. Some advice I would give is to set a goal and do everything in your power to reach it. If it's moving from rural Colorado to New York City or making the basketball or soccer team, just pick something to focus on other than feeling alone. Because in attempting to accomplish your goal, you will more than likely make friends along the way.

Any words of wisdom about coming out (or, as you write about, coming out all over again to a new set of people in college)?
Coming out it isn't something that can be rushed into. You have to do it at a moment that feels right to you and only if coming out will not endanger your well being. Coming out again at university has been relatively easy, at least for me here. There's a joke at NYU that everyone is assumed gay until proven otherwise. My philosophy toward being out on campus has been just to be me—not to advertise, but also not to lie or hide.

And lastly, the plain old fun: What are you "hearting" in these pre-Valentine Days?
I was watching The Chicago Code—again—on Hulu when I got this email. I'm also hearting Glee, Pretty Little Liars, Grey's Anatomy, and Law & Order: SVU. I am in love with Mariska Hargitay. I also recently discovered UK Skins and have started watching the US version, but if I were to go into more detail about my thoughts on that it would require another interview. In terms of news I am a total Rachel Maddow junkie. I download her podcasts every night, and I even when to two of the live shows she hosted right before Christmas. I also read a lot of the Huffington Post and New York Times. Fashion-wise, I am pretty easy to please, as long as I'm comfortable. I wear a lot of jeans and button-ups with sweaters and a pair of Converse I may need to replace soon because I've started wearing through them. I also got a fabulous pair of riding boots that I would love to wear more often if it wasn't so slushy in New York right now.

By Kathleen Hicks, 22, reporting from Charlotte, NC, on her happy break from fast food.

About three years ago, whenever I would get a grumble in my stomach, my first thoughts would always be "Where are my keys?" I would throw on some shoes and drive myself to one of the many fast food restaurants down the road. I'd pull up to the window, fork over the $8 and take my greasy and sometimes cold food back home to eat in front of the TV.

Until one day I turned on the TV, and a cooking show happened to be on. Suddenly, while I watched the chef prepare this beautiful and delicious meal with so few items, it hit me: Why am I buying food that doesn't fill me up, isn't healthy and is eating away at my bank account?

With that, I dumped my dinner, watched the rest of the show, wrote down the ingredients I needed and drove to the grocery store. I will say I was quite scared to attempt cooking, but I knew if I could do it this once, I had a whole new world of food possibilities ahead. By the end of the process I had a burnt finger and a lot of dishes—but I also had a meal I had made myself.

Ever since I've been hooked on cooking shows and surfing the Internet for new ways to prepare ordinary ingredients. I want people my age to know how great it feels to take charge of what you put in your bodies. Now's the time to join the movement of Young People Cooking, and start making responsible food choices!

It's simple: Just look up a recipe that sounds good and try it. It doesn't matter if you think you're a horrible cook. If you're scared, call some friends over and make it a party. Find healthier ways to make the fast foods you've been paying for then put your own spin on them. Like instead fries that have been deep-fried in oil, why not bake sweet potato fries in the oven? You're eating healthier, saving money and meeting a delicious new snack.

By Jessica Goodman, 20, Northridge, CA, on a wise way to spend winter break

Here's the good part about being home for the holidays in 2010, having that conversation with parents about Your Future: Even they aren't going to tell you it's an easy time to find a paying job.

As the world interns, so should you. What these internships don't offer in pay, they often do in feeding your interests (and your ultimate career goals). Winter break is the perfect time to sit down, research—and maybe start applying for—spring or summer internships. Might as well take part in your path of success now!

First, you want to focus on your future field and make sure you're looking at established companies that can provide both school credit and experience. Stay away from intern-seeking individuals on Craigslist, because you just never know.

For aspiring journalists, check out www.cubreporters.org. There are great postings for all realms of media: magazines, websites, newspapers, television, and radio. This is where I found an awesome internship at KIIS FM—and got to count Ryan Seacrest as a colleague.

If you're obsessed with political science, look into joining a campaign in your own city or state—or in Washington, D.C. , to learn from the real core of U.S. government. One great website for political posts is www.publiceye.org/aboutpra/jobnews.html.

Dream of curing cancer, or at least our nation's health-care crisis? Hospitals and law offices generally offer internship programs. Simply search for and check out the sites of these institutions near you.

Of course, most schools also have internship listings. Go beyond the general career center and check with a favorite high school teacher, college professor, or your individual department. But you're on break now! See what you can find online, then just enjoy your head start until the next semester begins.

By Zulay Regalado, 21, reporting from Miami, FL, on a website that matches your personal passion with an important (and fun) cause

Want to start a movement in your community but you don't know where to begin? Inspired to do something—only you're not sure exactly what?

Dosomething.org is a non-profit organization that gives teens free reign to stand up for the causes you love. You can find ways to support any issue you care about, from poverty to racial discrimination and health to animal testing, or start your own club with friends to help raise awareness. You can launch a petition, become an activist for your community, or even stand beside Paramore's Hayley Williams in her fight against sex trafficking.

Whatever your areas of interest, the site provides interesting facts and background to help you decide where best to apply your energy. (Did you know that there are six million more women than men in the world, yet women only receive 11 percent of the world's income?)

On top of making the world a better place, it's a fun way to earn some community service hours for school and even add that extra humanitarian touch to your college resume. By connecting with others around the things you're passionate about, "something" can mean everything.

By Cindy Morand, 21, who interviews fellow RED author Tiffani Hortman, 20, about her upcoming event to help young people (like her) who live with illness.

Published author and activist Tiffani Hortman, 20, was diagnosed with a rare form of muscular dystrophy as a child—and has been helping her peers cope with chronic illness ever since.

On October 9, she will be participating in the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Walk of Hope-Macon at Lake Tobesofkee (what a great name!), Georgia. Join her team from wherever you are. In this fun, meaningful way, you can provide help and hope to local families living with neuromuscular disease and fund groundbreaking research leading to a cure.

Cindy Morand: What motivates you—personally, and to help others with illness?
Tiffani Hortman: Life in general motivates me. I was diagnosed with dermatomyositis at age five, so I don't really know any different. It's a very rare autoimmune neuromuscular disorder—I think there are only five of us in the whole state of Georgia with it—that prevents me from being able to build any kind of muscle. I think growing up, I never really ever felt sorry for myself at all. I just love helping other people; it's how my parents raised me.

CM: Tell me about your upcoming fundraiser and why it's so important to give back.
TH: The potential impact of this MDA fundraiser is saving people's lives. One aspect of this that really speaks to me is sending someone to camp for a summer. Camp was the best thing that ever happened to me. This summer I worked at one I'd attended for 13 years as a camper. It's for children with all kinds of illnesses, from MD to cancer. I'm also teaching kids with chronic illnesses how to ride horses.

CM: What can other people our age do to help?
TM: Donate to my team! Just $30 buys a life-saving flu shot, and we're working toward those $800 camp scholarships. Any teen can look for this kind of camp or center. Or, more simply, If you see someone in a wheelchair having trouble, ask if you can help.

CM: How does MD effect you, and what would you like others to know about it?
TM: I tend to get tired faster than others. I also tend to get from people that I don't "look sick," like I had a police officer on campus try to write me a ticket because I didn't look like I needed my handicap tag. Most times people can't really tell I have anything wrong with me.

CM: I suppose that can be both good and bad? Sometimes you probably want people to know you're having a hard time?
TM: I sometimes wish adults would be more like four-year-olds: Four-year-olds don't have an issue with asking, Why do you walk that way? or Why are you in a scooter or wheelchair? I don't have an issue explaining what's wrong at all. You don't have to take a lot of time to help someone. Sometimes it's the little things that matter, like asking another human being to tell you their story.

By Dani Cox, 16, reporting from Pleasanton, CA, on a cool summer recipe that makes her feel like a Top Chef.

Cooking has never been my forte. As much as I love to eat and want the spices and measurements to come naturally to my capable, master-chef hands, I have always been dependent upon recipe books to lead me to a successful meal.

That is, until my aunt showed me one of her typical dinner recipes, Tomato Pepper Salad. It really was the turning point of my cooking career, because it really doesn't call for any cooking! To make this dish, all you need are fresh bell peppers, juicy tomatoes, and feta cheese.

First, you cut the peppers and tomatoes into small pieces and put them in the bowl. Then add some feta and a twist of olive oil. Mix it all together, and you have a healthy, heavenly, colorful, in-season meal -- with Greek influences to top it off. It's a great source of energy and a real summer crowd-pleaser, even if your crowd's the kind who likes to watch cooking shows.

By RED editor Amy Goldwasser, interviewing U.S. soccer star, gold medalist and TV journalist Julie Foudy

The World Cup starts next week—June 11 to July 11 in Cape Town, South Africa—and, well, even if you're an American girl who's into soccer, this is an international sports event that's never offered much of a place for girls (or women, or Americans for that matter). Until this year, when the ingenious new organization Global Girl Media's Kick it Up! project dispatches 20 local girls, age 14 to 22, most from the Soweto township, as digital video journalists covering the 2010 FIFA World Cup. And their mentor is noneother than senior ESPN sportscaster Julie Foudy, former captain of the U.S. Women's Soccer team and two-time gold medalist. We caught up with the inspirational athlete and activist to find out more about the world's coolest citizen reporters, from the frontlines of the World Cup.

RED Hearts: You identify yourself as "a global girl." What does that kind of global citizenship mean to you—and to the young journalists you're working with?

JF: When you're holding a camera and providing insight into your community, you're also providing leadership to all those other girls who want to do the same thing. I hope that seeing stories by GlobalGirl reporters on the web and on TV will encourage young women around the globe to have opinions, speak out, and be a part of a global society.

RED Hearts: Why girls?

JF: Quite simply, there are too few women out there, both in front of and behind the cameras and working in media. It's not great in the U.S., and it's worse internationally. By exposing girls to journalism and giving them practical experience in the field with video and sound equipment, we're hoping that more young women will decide to pursue careers in journalism. All of our GlobalGirl reporters in South Africa keep journals and are interested in writing. We're planning to do stories together. I can't wait!

RED Hearts: How can any girl with a story to tell—soccer or not—get her start?

JF: My advice to all girls out there is to look around in their own communities and report on stories and events that matter to them. Be confident and know that your voice is important and has great value—not just in your own neighborhood but worldwide.

By Zoe Mendelson, 19, reporting from Chicago, on her favorite fungi

I get a huge range of reactions when I offer mushroom samples to people at the farmer's market. Admittedly, my mushrooms don't look or smell like the cute white buttons you'll typically see on grocery store shelves. For someone who's new to fungi, they can be intimidating. But if I can coax a curious patron into the magical mycelial world, they're thanking me and buying mushrooms and returning week after week to restock.

Mushrooms rank among the largest organisms in the world, and are medicinal to humans. They contain high levels of vitamin D and three B vitamins; they are rich in selenium and ergothioneine (antioxidants), potassium, and copper. Mushrooms even have the ability to shrink tumors! Oh, and they're fat-free. But besides the health benefits, they're also fun and easy to eat. Yes, for the record, you can eat them raw. Or mushrooms simply sautéed with a little oil and salt yield exciting new flavors and textures. I'll challenge anyone to discern in taste between a scallop and a sautéed king oyster mushroom. Pompoms -- little yellow fuzzy balls that you'll want to outfit with a pair of googly eyes -- taste like lobster.

And then there are their unique wiles. I can't say it's an addiction but it's something like loving chocolate. Yellow oysters (pictured) look like inspiration from Avatar, and though they won't take you on mental space trips like other mushroom varieties, they will win over your taste buds in a romantic way.

By Zulay Regalado, 21, reporting from Miami, FL, on shoes that look great and give back

Please, make yourself comfortable. Take off your shoes. This is definitely the day to do so -- and for a bigger purpose, even, than making sure your toes touch spring. Today's the first-ever One Day Without Shoes, launched by Toms Shoes, a cool company that gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need for every pair they sell.

All it takes to spread awareness about the millions of kids around the world who live without proper footwear is to go barefoot for a bit. By shedding your shoes, you're shedding light on the many hardships these children face daily.

And now there is a new movement called Toms For Proms. More than 33 high schools from across the country and over 2,900 students are forgoing the pain of walking 16 blocks in wobbly, zirconia-studded heels for a pair of Toms. To glam up a dream dress, these Silver Glitters Toms are the perfect mix of formal and eco-flair. Comfort and style.

By Sam Lewin, 20, reporting from New York City, on how to celebrate being newly single online.

"No longer listed as in a relationship" lingers on my Facebook profile. It reminds me of my new single status, sure, but also the one thing my broken heart can do about it—celebrate.

Alone this Valentines Day? Who cares? Evidently not you. You'll be utilizing a socially acceptable means to prove to the world and yourself that you're fine—better than fine. Go and post those pictures of your carefree antics, that cute like-a-brother buddy (who your former boyfriend didn't happen to meet) with his arm casually slung around your shoulder (a loving gesture he never thought to extend to you), and guess what? Our exes will have to take it.

No, it's not the straightest or most selfless route to saving face. But that's the beauty of Facebook, isn't it? We use Facebook to report on our lives in a space where narcissism is glorified, where, however "it's complicated," we're expected to assert our extraordinary vibrancy and fun-loving character.

See, somewhere in my heartache I realized that communicating via status or pics has the unique quality of appearing non-specific, i.e., not directed at my ex. The insecurity in my voice remains hidden beneath seemingly thoughtless announcements to an anonymous empty abyss. Awesome isn't it?

Just remember that the virtual land of masked passive aggression, like anything else, has its two-way roads. Be aware that your ex wields the same power of profile and just might reciprocate for your lonely heart to see. And if you dare break social barriers by bringing this data out of cyberspace and into conversation—and he dares say that the new pics were "my girlfriend's idea" and he never gave it a second thought—well, you'll have to take it.

But don't be bitter. I'm not. As my Facebook friends can plainly see, I never lost my composure.

Annie Littlewood, 21, reporting from Overland Park, Kansas, on the dog who's here to sit and stay.

I always had a dog during childhood. Our last dog, a German shepherd named Buddy Love, had to be put to sleep a couple of months after I graduated from high school.

It took four years for me to finally decide it was time for a new companion. Then for months, my boyfriend Pieter and I discussed making a home for our friend's Boxer's soon-to-be puppies. When we met Captain Mauser, two days after his birth, we knew immediately he was the one.

Dog parenthood is a huge responsibility and expense. You have to be mature enough to take care of yourself and another living thing. Will you be able to do it alone? How will your roommates feel? Where do you spend your holidays? Is there someone to babysit if you have to go out of town without him/her? Do you truly want to start a friendship that will inevitably end in death? Can you handle that?

If you're not up for the months of training, there are plenty of older orphaned, free animals that need love (find out how you can help animal victims of the Haiti disaster here). Animal shelters are the best places to find a dog who is already potty-trained, has its shots, can walk on a leash, and doesn't chew on furniture, shoes, trash, etc.

There are also a lot of essentials that come with that animal: food, leashes, bones, shampoo, brushes, vitamins, veterinarian visits. About.com gives a chart on average yearly expenses of dog ownership. And, dogs need consistent exercise — so you have to be up for the walks too. Taking Mauser out twice a day has given us an exercise routine, plus more time to hold hands.

When I come home, my pup's shiny, chestnut-brown body wiggles uncontrollably, and I can see, feel his pure, honest adoration. Your dog will fill your life with daily comfort and joy — a blessing that can always cure you of boredom. (Fetch is the best game.) I get to wake up every morning with my best friend, a being who will be more consistent in loving me than any sweetheart, taking up the entire end of my bed.