HWS News
6 November 2026 Beyond the Headlines at Reuters
Three HWS students explore marketing, digital advertising and the business behind one of the world's leading news and information companies.
When Isabella Hayes ’27 found out 1980s pop icon Boy George would be visiting the office at her internship this summer, she didn’t believe it. For Hayes, a media and society major, the celebrity encounter seemed at odds with the buttoned-up culture she expected at Reuters.
Then, five minutes before a meeting, the singer walked right by her.
“I was in a state of shock and just froze and stared at him,” Hayes recalls. “It was so awesome seeing someone who brought joy to my childhood and my family’s life standing right in front of me.”
Used to working in sports media, Hayes wasn’t sure what to expect at the global news and information company.
For Hayes and two fellow HWS interns, Bauer Swift ’27 and Elizabeth Whitney ’27, the summer offered a look at the business behind the company's news and digital media operations, from developing advertising campaigns to building relationships with clients.
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Hayes worked with the integrated marketing team to develop client presentations, research and case studies. Meanwhile, Swift, a double major in economics and business management and entrepreneurship, and Whitney, a double major in business management and sociology, worked in digital advertising sales.
For Hayes, the internship began with an email while she was studying abroad in Berlin. A professor had nominated her for the opportunity, and Maribeth Shell, from HWS Career Services, helped her prepare for the interview.
On her first day at the company's Times Square headquarters, Hayes found herself in unfamiliar territory. But the welcome she received quickly put her at ease.
“When I got there, I wasn’t that nervous, but it was something very new to me. I remember how human and funny the people were. I genuinely felt like I was becoming part of a family that day,” Hayes says.
Swift, a member of the Hobart hockey championship team, spent his summer learning how digital advertising campaigns are sold, managed and evaluated.
Working with Salesforce and other industry software tools, Swift studied the performance indicators advertisers use to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. He also collaborated with marketing, revenue operations and advertising operations teams, learning how different departments contribute to a successful campaign.
“This experience has been very helpful in getting a better picture of what sorts of things I may value in my career in the future,” Swift says.
For Whitney, a member of the William Smith rowing team, one of the most memorable experiences happened when two HWS alumni at Reuters invited her to lunch with an advertising agency client.
“That was the moment I felt like I actually stepped into the professional world,” she says.
Whitney conducted competitive market research, created presentations showing clients how advertisements appeared on Reuters' website and supported the sales team in meetings and daily operations.
The internship gave her opportunities to strengthen her Excel, Salesforce and PowerPoint software skills, but the lessons in building professional relationships were just as valuable.
“What I'm really building is how to develop genuine professional relationships and network without it feeling forced,” Whitney says.
Those relationships extended to the HWS alumni who helped introduce the students to Reuters, including Senior Account Executive at Reuters Michael Conte ’16 and Executive Director of Financial Services & Enterprise Advertising Partnerships Kristian Hart ’13. Whitney credits them and Career Services for helping connect and prepare her for the experience.
“Michael Conte interviewed me for this role and talked a lot about how Hobart and William Smith set him up in his career. That conversation gave me so much confidence that I'd have the opportunity to develop this summer,” Whitney says. “I've also gotten to know Krissie, another HWS alum here at Reuters. It's been really valuable having that HWS community around.”
Outside the office, Whitney balanced her internship with competitive rowing, commuting 90 minutes round trip to train at the New York Athletic Club and traveling to regattas in Michigan and Philadelphia.
The experience also changed how she thinks about the workplace and the kind of career she hopes to pursue.
“People who work hard but also have lives and are happy,” she says of her colleagues. “That's reshaping what I want in a career.”
Top (from left to right): Bauer Swift ’27, Isabella Hayes ’27, Kristian Hart ’13, Elizabeth Whitney ’27 and Michael Conte ’16.
