ABOUT THIS ISSUE.

What do Mark Whitaker, editor of Newsweek, Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Capital Management Inc., and our own Robyn D. Clarke, careers editor for BLACK ENTERPRISE, have in common? They all started as interns at the very company for which they currently work. It's an answer to the classic dilemma that many young college graduates face: How do you get a job without experience, and how do you get experience without a job? A summer internship is perhaps the best way to gain experience, and anyone who has been involved in one knows that such programs can lead to fabulous career opportunities.

That's why Earl G. Graves Ltd., the parent company of BLACK ENTERPRISE magazine, takes its internship program so seriously.

"This is highly competitive," says Natalie Hibbert, the internship coordinator for the company. "We get hundreds of applications for a program that typically has 10 spots. So we look for candidates who show an interest and have a 3.0 GPA in general, Interns in the editorial department also need to have writing samples. For other interns, we are looking for some experience in their field as well."

Our proteges aren't simply sharpening pencils, shuffling paper, and fetching coffee. They work hard.

Our editorial interns--SUNY Stonybrook junior Duane A. Bourne, Rutgers University senior Tanisha R. Hopson, Hofstra University junior Takita W. Mason, and Rutgers University senior Nicole M. Richardson--get a chance to write articles, act as reporters for writers and editors, and often come up with story ideas that they later work on. So take a closer look at the names listed on this page; you'll see them again in the coming months in both the magazine and on blackenterprise.com.

And for those whose names you won't see, their work in other departments is equally demanding and rewarding. Brooklyn College senior Adika Butler is learning what it takes to sell ads in our advertising department while Morgan State University junior Courtney B. Haggenmiller is helping to crunch numbers in accounting. University of Science & Technology in Ghana senior Nana P. Nyarko is interning with our circulation department. Fieldston High School senior Billy Peraza is in our art department. Stanford University sophomore Aarti Ravikumar is helping our Internet sales department and New York University senior Nicholas E. Thomas is working with Black Enterprise Unlimited.

Clarke, who has supervised the interns in the editorial department for the past three years, was herself a BE intern while a student at Burgers University. She says the program is an excellent stepping stone for college students. In fact, like Clarke, a number of interns have eventually worked for BE or have gone on to other well-respected companies.

"Our program is particularly good because they get real experience," says Clarke. "They come to work like the full-time staffers do, and they have the opportunity to get published like we do."

-- The Editors