Three Montgomery Area High School broadcast students were selected for a paid internship creating tv and radio commercials for Murray Motors, of Muncy. From left, Morgan Bloom, Cameron St. James and Lucas Drake pose in front of their in-house green screen.

MUNCY – Ann Baker, Marketing manager for Murray Motors in Muncy brought on three Montgomery Area High School broadcasting students recently to assist with visual communications for the dealership. They were offered an opportunity that many college communication students would envy according to Baker.

Baker said Murray Motors approached the school offering a paid internship for three students to write, film and produce commercials for the company. “They will produce two 30-second TV commercials and one 60-second radio ad per month. They’ll also create branding videos for Murray’s YouTube channel,” Baker said.

Carina McNear, teacher and advisor for the students at Montgomery High School said that the partnership is positive because these students really want to go into broadcasting and marketing. “They will be able to go with a portfolio of work that’s already been televised,” she said.

The interns are Cameron St. James, Lucas Drake and Morgan Bloom, all seniors. McNear and co-instructor Chris Ulrich selected these students based on their experience, motivation and classroom participation. The internship will continue through the school year and for as long as they are willing and capable of doing the work, McNear said.

Interns are responsible for just about everything, from storyboarding and doing voice-over work to filming and editing. Morgan Bloom is looking forward to doing the editing.

“Hopefully, when we get further into it, I’ll do some filming,” she said. “But, right now, I’m doing a lot of organizing.”

The first TV commercial was due Feb. 2 and will be played on Facebook, YouTube, Newswatch 16, The Weather Channel and other stations. Their radio ads will air via Sunbury Broadcasting, said Baker who is internet sales manager and market coordinator for Murray Motors.

“What they’re doing will be seen by thousands of people,” she said, adding their payment will be discussed after reviewing the first commercial.

Baker said the auto center had a member of the owner’s family producing their commercials with in-house equipment but, as he has become less accessible, the company wanted to reach out to students who could learn from the position.

“We realized there was an opportunity for students to get some experience,” she said. “And this is a chance for them to offer us some fresh ideas.”