Peyton Kidd with the original jackrabbit statue in Odessa.
On June 1, 2020, 35 talented UT Austin students started their Home to Texas (HTT) internships with various employers around the state. For Peyton Kidd, a Home to Texas intern from Odessa, Texas, that meant working at the Basin PBS station in Midland, a short distance from her hometown of Odessa, Texas.
Peyton is a sophomore at UT Austin in the Radio, Television, and Film department who has been working towards her goal of a career in media since she was in high school. While Home to Texas internships are not based on majors, the Basin PBS station happened to be one of the employers working with the program in the region. Peyton’s interests aligned perfectly with the Basin PBS station internship opportunity.
Peyton started thinking about a career in media when she realized that she loved editing videos and was good at it in high school. That passion grew into a career goal as she joined the Radio Television and Film department in the Moody College of Communications. Students are encouraged to see the communities they grew up in with a new perspective, as young adults that are starting their professional journeys.
This is how she described her experience in the program so far:
“I am so excited about this internship and the professional connections I’m making close to my hometown. Most media jobs are in New York or California, but this internship is showing me that there are options in this region too. It feels great to work for a non-profit that supports the community and provides free, quality broadcasting programs and events for the whole family.”
When thinking about her community, Peyton added, “The Permian Basin may not seem very glamorous; I know it’s very dry and hot. But the community really comes together here, it’s really inspiring. There’s a lot of great people here, a lot of heart, the people building the community really care about it.”
Since the COVID-19 crisis started a couple months before the Home to Texas program was scheduled to start, it was unclear what the internships would look like. Laura Wolf, the CEO of the Basin PBS station commented,
Signing up for the Home to Texas internship was an easy decision. Little did I know that a pandemic would hit us. Basin PBS normally has events two to three times a month and since the Pandemic, that number has been reduced to 0. It was a scramble to figure out how best Peyton could serve us and more importantly, how we could serve her.
Fortunately, she is a great asset to us! From designing a logo for our Main Street Unplugged music series, to making sure we know what we’ve got in our inventory of give-aways, she has proved most beneficial. And, with our Production Studio just finished, Peyton will take an active role in our local live broadcasts for the Summer. She will be running graphics at Main Street Unplugged, and working with our Creative Services Manager in shooting and editing various promotional and sponsorship spots.
It is terrific to have her at Basin PBS as we strive to continue our mission of educating children’s minds and filling adult spirits.
Peyton is most excited about working on Main Street Unplugged, a live music program that highlights local and national artists every 3 months starting June 25th. If you watch the live concert series, Peyton will be the young woman working the switchboard to make sure the graphics look great!
Click this link to learn more about the Home to Texas program and find out how you can get involved.