All-Star Opportunity

When Brittney Cadott ’11 saw the multimedia internship opportunity at American Cheerleader Magazine this past January, she knew she had to apply.

Cadott has always wanted to pursue a career that coincided with her love for cheerleading. Since the age of 7, she has been involved with the sport, competing as an all-star cheerleader in high school, and for the past four years, she has cheered on the Rider squad.

As a senior Communication major with a concentration in Radio/TV and minors in Multimedia and Public Relations, Cadott has also gained plenty of experience in television production while working on Backstage Story for News@Rider on the Rider University Network.

“I’ve been a longtime subscriber of the magazine and a cheerleader,” she explained. “I went to school for this.”

Cadott knew that she would be a perfect match. The magazine’s managing editor thought so, too, and replied to her application immediately.

When she began her internship on February 1, Cadott was surprised to learn how small the staff was for a magazine that has a more than a million readers. There were four editors in the editorial department and three staff members in the advertising department. However, she soon learned the value of interning for a small staff, and followed her mentor Scott Alboum’s and her internship adviser Dr. AJ Moore’s advice — to be invaluable and proactive.

“That’s exactly what I did. I took initiative and people remembered me,” Cadott said.

Since there was no multimedia editor at the time, Cadott was placed at a desk among the four other editors. There, she edited videos and managed the magazine’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Cadott said the experience was eye-opening. She relied heavily on the skills she had acquired from her classes, including Advanced Publication Design, as well as programs, such as Final Cut Pro and CS5.

“The internship opened my eyes to a lot of abilities that I have,” explained Cadott, who would commute to the magazine’s office in New York City three days a week.

Later during her the internship, the fashionista and part-time model was offered an opportunity of a lifetime that would open her eyes to a new career goal. Cadott was asked to assist the magazine’s Fashion and Beauty editors on the upcoming July/August issue. In late April, she flew out to Los Angeles with the two editors, where she worked on the sets of photo shoots, but she also had the chance to rub elbows with celebrities.

Cadott was responsible for getting clothes, picking out shoes and putting together goody bags for the models. On site, she helped dress the models for the photo shoots.

Later, Cadott and the American Cheerleader staff had the chance to meet Keeping up with the Kardashians reality stars Kris Jenner and Kendall Jenner when they visited the Jenner House to unveil Kendall’s cover issue. E! filmed the unveiling because it was Kendall’s first solo cover. Cadott, wearing a pink dress, appears in the E! segment with the other American Cheerleader staff members.

The issue featuring the high school cheerleader hit newsstands on May 3.

While it was exciting to meet the reality stars, Cadott said it was even more satisfying to see Kendall’s reaction to the finished product that she had worked on.

“I assisted in picking the double cover of Kendall with the editors. I pulled art to be used in the issue itself. I did the behind the scenes work of the editors to drive the issue to publish. Whatever task big or small they needed done I did. I was no ordinary intern, and that's what my boss, Brittany, says,” Cadott said. “When I was out in Hollywood, people involved with the shoots not from American Cheerleader thought I was the media editor not the intern.”

Cadott, who will remain at the internship until the next issue goes to deadline, will walk in the Lawrenceville Undergraduate Commencement on May 12. She said her professors, especially Alboum, have given her invaluable advice and support throughout her studies, and her time at Rider and during the internship has opened her eyes to career possibilities.

“I have become more organized and professional. I think I have matured and become more independent. I also learned time management,” said Cadott about the internship. “I want to do what I did in Los Angeles. I want to be involved with celebrities and work in the fast-paced environment.”