JACKSON, Tenn. — Aug. 16, 2023 — Union senior Eunice Tan grew up telling stories and writing music.
It wasn’t until coming to Union, however, that she realized her passion for writing could be turned into a career. And an internship with Penguin Random House, one of the world’s largest publishers, gave Tan an invaluable experience in preparing for that career.
“The moments of pure fun and joy I experienced just sitting in front of my computer reading unpublished manuscripts for younger readers was spectacular,” Tan said about her internship. “The best part was being able to actively offer my feedback on manuscripts in team meetings and calls with authors and having my ideas taken seriously.”
After taking an editing class at Union, Tan was chosen to be the editor-in-chief for The Torch, the university’s literary arts magazine. In 2022, she became a member of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honors society, and now serves as president of the Theta Omicron Chapter at Union.
Through this organization, Tan had access to priority candidate applications for the Penguin Random House internship. Internships at PRH are highly competitive, and only four priority applicants were selected to participate out of an international pool of applicants.
After being selected, she went through two rounds of interviewing and was awarded the job a few weeks later. Tan specifically worked in Kokila, a sector of PRH that publishes children’s and young adult books written and illustrated by authors with diverse backgrounds.
The team immediately welcomed her in and allowed her to be a contributor to the work at hand. During her time with PRH, Tan provided editorial feedback on several works, categorized book inventory and met with authors within Kokila. Her favorite part of her position was editing seven books that spanned multiple young age groups.
During her time at PRH, she developed personal and meaningful connections with her colleagues and gained insight into the internal workings of the publishing industry.
“Through this experience, I learned the superior importance of connections,” Tan said. “The publishing industry is a very niche slice of the market where everyone knows each other. And once you tap into one small link in the slice, you’ve gained the most valuable thing any aspiring author or editor could ask for: a connection to your dream destination.
“I still keep in touch with my bosses and colleagues, and I know these are connections that will last and help me as I venture deeper into this industry after graduation.”