Interning in Full Swing

Danelle, copy editor intern, and Rutendo, editor intern, hard at work!

This year the 17 Intern Academy received such high numbers of applications, we decided to extend the Academy for an extra few weeks to fit in as many girls as possible! Over the coming days you'll be hearing from a range of the girls who've given up their holidays to come work with the seventeam.

Day One, 30 June
"If you’d told me six months ago that I would be spending part of my June/July holidays interning at one of my favourite magazines, I probably would have laughed! Never in a million years did I think that I would be one of the ‘chosen ones’, as Khewzi called us at our introductory breakfast earlier this morning, and I feel so incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.

When I woke up this morning feeling as though Christmas had come early – far too excited for my own good! A little nervous too, I’ll admit. Not knowing what to expect and the will to impress egged my nervousness on, but after finally arriving at seventeen offices and meeting the seventeam, I was able to relax. Over muffins, fruit salad and crumpets with whipped cream, the other interns and I were introduced to the seventeam who were really friendly and warm. For my internship, I’m shadowing the beauty editor, Genevieve. Apart from just deciding what make-up, skincare and hair products are included in each issue, she also works on a lot of advertorials such as the Clean & Clear ‘The BFF’s Guide to Life’ series. I’ll be working with her on these while I’m here, which is really exciting because it means I get to go on photo shoots and help her! There's also a whole wall devoted to the free gifts Gen gets like ghd hair products, Dermalogica face washes, MAC make-up, Essie nail polish and so much more – can’t wait for the seventeen beauty sale!

Can’t wait to see what the next two weeks hold for me!"

-Jess Stromin, 18, Beauty Ed


"Last night I couldn’t sleep so I made myself a playlist called 'The Intern'. It was supposed to motivate and calm me. But as I was getting ready for my first day as a 17 internee, I thought of how I’d walk into the office where people would be running around, tripping over papers, all in fear of the editor who would never speak, only give glances over her thick rimmed Dolce and Gabanna glasses. I’ve clearly spent too much time watching The Devil Wears Prada and re-runs of Ugly Betty.

Day one of the 17 Academy was nothing like I imagined. I am lucky enough to be shadowing Khwezi, the editor, for the duration of the internship. She’s really nice and so is the rest of the team.

The 17 office is a very pretty place filled with pictures of models, celebrities, hair, make-up and fashion trends, and of course all the past editions of the magazine. It’s an open plan office so the team can easily chat to each other and share ideas. After we were shown around and given a station to work at, I felt a lot more settled in. My first task was simple. It required some creativity and language skills that I acquired during my 12 years of schooling. I ‘edited’, ish, a piece of writing done by one of the employees of 17. I didn’t find any faults so I just added in some of my ideas, took some out and then I was done.

Can’t wait till tomorrow!"

- Rutendo Nyamuda, 19, Editor

Lezanne - hard at work.

"This morning when I got out of bed, I was pretty nervous. I have never had a job before so this was a new experience for me. After getting lost, trying to find the seventeen offices, I felt relieved to finally arrive. I walked into the building unaware of what to expect.

I was greeted by many smiling faces and I immediately felt comfortable with my surroundings (even though I arrived a bit late due to the fact that I got lost). All my nerves went out the window and I was getting ready to work. I was allocated a desk with a computer and a task to complete. Once that was completed, I was given another task and that is how the day went. The tasks were enjoyable. They included commenting on a previous issue of seventeen magazine and the present issue that will be released soon and doing some researching. It felt so cool looking through the magazine before it became available for everyone else.

I can’t wait for day two"

- Lezanne Boroto, 17, Entertainment Editor