New Internship Partnership with The Post and Courier Kicks Off at USCB
The Post and Courier, South Carolina’s largest independent media company, has partnered with the University of South Carolina Beaufort in an innovative internship program. Two USCB Communication Studies students are the first to take advantage of this opportunity that benefits both undergraduates and the newspaper industry.
USCB is participating in The Post and Courier's University Partnership initiative, which launched in January 2025. Through this statewide effort, the company collaborates with higher education institutions to offer immersive, real-world training to aspiring journalists and marketing and advertising professionals.
"Our internship partnership with USCB has been a valuable addition," said Natalie
Woods, Publisher & Digital Sales Director of The Post and Courier Beaufort County. "It has
been rewarding to help develop emerging talent, and we appreciate the opportunity
to collaborate with the college."
USCB Communication Studies majors Kayla Sheriffe and Tia Simmons, both seniors, are
the university's first interns with The Post and Courier.
Simmons and Sheriffe are embedded at The Post and Courier's Bluffton office on Calhoun Street, where the newspaper's regional edition for Beaufort County is produced. Sheriffe works in news under the guidance of editor and reporter Tony Kukulich.
"I have learned that journalism stories are organized completely differently from English essays or creative writing," Sheriffe said. "Journalism has its own structure."
Kukulich said that working with Sheriffe has taught him "not to assume or take anything for granted."
Simmons worked as a marketing and advertising intern, mentored by Woods.
"Tia has brought a fresh perspective," Woods said. "She provided meaningful support for our team."
At a time when newspapers and other media outlets are struggling with staffing cuts, The Post & Courier's program helps by enlarging its staff and developing journalists and marketing professionals of the future. The Post & Courier's University Partnership program requires higher education institutions to fund their interns' stipends. USCB's Academic Affairs Office decided to shoulder the cost because the internship program meets a critical need in the development of emerging journalists and fits with the university's mission to provide students with hands-on professional experience during their college years.
In addition to gaining practical experience in print and digital reporting, marketing, and advertising, Simmons and Sheriffe are building professional portfolios through meaningful, community-focused work. Both interns work 10 hours per week and are receiving college credit for their internships in addition to hourly wages.
The new initiative attracted applicants from several majors at USCB. Following a competitive review process, Simmons and Sheriffe were chosen to join The Post & Courier's team for the Fall 2025 semester. Interviews are going on now for Spring 2026 internships at the media company, said Robie Scott, The Post & Courier's director of community relations and communications.
-- CW 11/30/25 --