Intern Profile on Mabel Martinez

Growing up with a strong interest in fashion and entertainment, Mabel Martinez gravitated toward reading magazines that catered to those subjects. She grew up spending her free time flipping through the pages of People, TeenPeople and People en Espanol embracing all of the fashion, beauty and celebrity inspired content.

Now, the rising senior at Long Island University is walking through the halls of one of her favorite magazines every day.

“When I got ASME and saw that People was on the list, I thought ‘great, that’s where I want to be.,’” Martinez said. “A lot of the magazines were ones that I would like to work for in the future.”

While initially finding out she was assigned to People magazine was a total thrill for Martinez, three weeks into her internship she got news that was even more electrifying. She had been spending countless hours conducting interviews and research for an upcoming story to help out one of the editors, when she discovered that her hard work had paid off.

“After doing all the research, one of the news editors told me that I did a really good job and that I got a byline in the magazine; I think it comes out on Friday,” she said. “Getting my first byline in People magazine is definitely the most exciting thing to happen this summer so far.”

While the buzz of having her name and work printed in People will be hard to top, Martinez is dedicated to continuing her success in the magazine industry. The Spanish speaker would love to find a job that lets her combine her Spanish skills with her love of fashion and beauty. But ultimately, she is focused on keeping her feet in the door of the magazine world.

“I do want to work in magazines,” she said. “Getting this experience at People and seeing how they work to put this magazine together has been great—seeing how they put the story together from scratch and seeing it get in the magazine.”

--Bridget Mallon, ASME Intern, Family Circle