Meet Grace Ping, a senior Media Production Major in the Department of Media. This past summer, she put her technical skills to work as a Public Affairs Officer (PAO) intern in Fort Knox, Kentucky.  

Each day, she took on a new challenge in documenting activities at the army installation and participated in friendly competition with her fellow interns. With each project, Ping was also aiming to earn “top video,” “top photo” or “top article” of the week.  

After making the leaderboard every single week she was assigned to capture video, Ping was awarded a prestigious Challenge Coin, which recognized her outstanding work as an intern and was awarded to her by a one-star general. 

“Personally, getting that Challenge Coin was a big deal … and I was so thankful,” Ping said. “I watched a few fellow interns and fellow cadets get one, but it never crossed my mind that I would get one.” 

With the help of the connections she has made and guidance she’s received from CCIM faculty and staff, along with the lessons she learned over the summer, Ping is equipped to tackle this new year. She continues to dedicate herself to her aspirations in motion graphics and has even started a new internship with the Indiana Historical Society.   

Recently, Ping sat down with CCIM Outreach Office Graduate Assistant Keith Rinker (Department of Media, ’26) to discuss her internship, Ball State experience, and more! 

How were you introduced to this internship? 

A retired colonel came into one of my classes. He did a presentation telling our class what a PAO is and what [those interns] would be doing this summer. This caught my attention. I never had someone come into one of my classes before. It was a calling for me in a way. 

What was the application process like? 

The process was easy. I had to get a letter of recommendation and submit my resume. I also had to give them a portfolio, which I had never submitted before. It was cool creating one for the first time!  

The guy who hired me said they liked their Ball State students from the past, so that helped me. I was accompanied by three other Ball State Students. Every other college only had one student — they had 40 interviews, and they only selected 20 students.  

In my portfolio, I submitted my documentary project that I did in Gateway [the former media capstone courses]. It was not that great, but I was still proud of it. It was exactly what they were looking for, a documentary style. It had all those aspects like knowing how to do lighting, knowing how to rig things, interviewing, setting up a camera, and putting a microphone on someone. That was the piece that proved that I could do all of that. 

What was the most unexpected thing you experienced during your time?  

We were there for three months in Fort Knox and I packed like I was going for two weeks. That was the most unexpected thing. Coming to terms with the fact that I was there for an entire summer. It was not hard, it was different. Being in that environment and having to sleep in barracks, eat in a dining hall, just like college, but it was also so different. 

 What was your typical day like?  

We had really busy days. Our wake-up time could range anytime from 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. I like to go on early assignments, so usually I was waking up around 5 a.m., getting ready, checking all my gear, and heading out of the barracks around 6 a.m. to show up at a 6:30 a.m. assignment. There, I would have my “Battle Buddy.” 

We always had a partner with us. It was someone doing video broadcasting and a photojournalism partner. In terms of assignments, there was so much we could do, and we got to pick, which was cool. There was a shooting range, an FLRC course, which is like leadership training, obstacle courses — there was a lot of stuff to pick from.  

I would shoot some B-roll for a while, walk around, try to be invisible, and then usually scout out an interview for a cadet. I would go up to them and ask them [for an interview], and they would always be so nervous, but they would always say yes. I would do my interview and then, after two hours of shooting, we would go back to our office which was our home base. We would edit, produce and put out our content within the same day.  

When you were recognized with a Challenge Coin, did you have anyone there to support you?  

My professor Tim Underhill, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Media, was there. He saw me receive it, which was cool. Over the summer, being surrounded by other interns and a lot of military folks, it was nice to have someone there who’s outside the base.  

It was just nice having another person who could understand what I was doing and how it would apply back to Ball State. It was cool because he felt proud of me. I had him the previous semester and he had seen my work before. He told me that I had improved which was a really big deal for me.  

He also gave me a gift which was a Challenge Coin of his own! He had it from one of his old workplaces. He was like, “Oh, this is for you,” and just laid it across the table, and . . . that was nice of him. I was like, “Okay, I’m walking away today with two challenge coins, I win!” 

What is the biggest thing you learned from this internship? 

Going into this internship, I was not very confident in my abilities to get interviews and talk to people I don’t know. I have this fear of rejection that they’re going to be like, “No, I don’t want to do an interview,” but all those cadets really did want to be interviewed.  

It’s the same in the real world, people like being on camera for the most part. I also had never worked with a team that big. So, I got to know all those people in a professional setting but also in friendship settings and set those boundaries of what it looks like to be a professional but also to be friends.  

Would you recommend this internship to other students? 

I would totally recommend anyone to do this internship. Even if it’s something you’re nervous about, just know I was nervous and still did it. Even if you’re not interested in broadcast or photography, you’re still learning so many things that would look so good on your portfolio. This internship is a portfolio builder for sure.   

You’re broadcasting, you’re mic’ing people — stuff that you’ve maybe already done, but also writing articles, taking photos, even if that’s something you’re not interested in, it’s still going to look good on your resume and you’re probably going to have a better chance of getting hired in the future. 

What made you decide to attend Ball State? 

I came to Ball State because my brother attended Ball State. When I came in as a freshman, he was finishing up his senior year. He also did CCIM, Media Production. He was an audio engineer.  

I knew I wanted to do video production before he wanted to be an audio engineer. Let me put that out there. I was following in his footsteps in a way. A lot of people joke that we are like “two sides of the same coin, we should open up our own production studio someday.” Ball State has the best program if you want to pursue something like video production. I think that was the biggest thing for me. 

Were there any faculty or staff that helped you at Ball State? 

The first professor that I had coming into my freshman year was Dr. Rob Brookey, Director of Digital Storytelling and Professor in the Department of Media. He was my first introduction to what CCIM was and what media production was going to be. Just seeing him be so enthused about this program made me want to keep pursuing it. When I got here, I didn’t have my doubts, but it’s just — it was hard coming in here seeing people who know nothing and other people who know everything. He just reminded our class that this is where you’re supposed to be. His energy was all I needed. 

What is your favorite part about CCIM? 

I think my favorite part about being in CCIM at Ball State is just the community. I think everyone who’s in CCIM or Media Production wants to be here. I think that’s what keeps me going is that you know you can find a friend around any corner. You know you can be like “Oh, did you take Gateway?” and they’re like “Oh yeah, I took [those classes],” like you can just talk about anything with anyone. You’re not going to feel alienated, it’s like one big community and I just love that. 

What are your goals for the future?  

I’m constantly looking for the next internship. I’m currently in an internship right now with the Indiana Historical Society. I go there every Friday, and I’m doing motion graphics for them. I’ve been keeping in touch with Chris Flook, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Media, about it. I’ll be staying with it for the rest of the year until I graduate.  

Personally, I want to pursue motion graphics in my future career. I think motion graphics with Chris Flook has had the biggest impact for me. Not only is it because it’s what I want to pursue but also because he has just had such a great impact. He’s always supported me. I think it excites him that I want to pursue what he’s pursued. He helped get me my current internship, which is awesome!  

There’s been a lot of mental endurance that I’ve built up. The idea of having to go to two classes in a day was so mentally draining to me. But now I’m balancing an internship and school which blows my mind. I just feel like I’ve come a long way in that.  

My time at Ball State has built me into the person that I am today. I don’t think I would have enjoyed college at any other college. From the beginning I knew it was Ball State. If I hadn’t gone to Ball State, then I wouldn’t have gotten my current internship or my internship at Fort Knox, and I am just so thankful for the connections I’ve made here.