Kids Report From National Geographic

On “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day,” April 22, kids took over National Geographic headquarters. They got the inside scoop on what it’s like to work for National Geographic and reported on what they learned.


William B.

Today I interviewed producers that worked for National Geographic and I
learned that a producer shoots the shows, makes up the story, hires the
right people, handles the money, and mails the finished product. I also
leaned that you don’t have to go to a special school, but it helps A
LOT. They also have a whole entire group to help come up with ideas.
They work with dozens and dozens of interesting people. Every single one
of them likes their job a lot. People here worked from 4 months to 10
years. None of them wanted to be a producer their whole lives. They’ve
been many other things like a caddy, waiter, teacher, librarian, video
seller, camera man, sound recordist, director, editor, and a writer.
Every one of them made more than 50 shows.

Taylor C.

I’m doing Aled Greville. His birthday is December 23, 1965. His wife’s
name is Marcia. He has a son named Rhys. Rhys is 7 years old, and he is
in first grade. Mr. Aled works for Hector. He is a director for
operations. He loves his job because of the responsibility and the
variety. He said he thinks he works hard at his job because he wants to
succeed at what he does. When he was young he did not want to work at
National Geographic because he wanted to be a motor racer driver. He
reaches his goals by working hard and being willing to take on new
responsibilities. His biggest accomplishment was saving money for the
book division. He has worked here for 12 years. In the future he doesn’t
know if he will be working here or not. His favorite memory working
here was meeting fun and interesting people. He has no brothers or
sisters. If he makes a mistake it costs him a lot of money. He balances
his work and family not too well. He wishies he could balance those two
things. To me he is really cool.

Chabria G.

Did you ever want to know what was going on inside the NGS? Well, if you
did, now it’s your time to find out. Today I got the inside scoop on
what goes on. I interviewed four different people, all in different
fields of work. They all gave me information on their occupation. Now
let’s get started. First, is the document center also known as the copy
room. People who work in the document center get phone calls and emails
all day about different printouts. Most people choose this job because
they are good with computers, troubleshooting, and helping people. I
found out that they enjoy their job there. One of the employees has been
working in the document center for 21 years. He likes his pay and
thinks he’s exceptionally good. In the document center there are over
2,000 printouts a day.

Next is an accountant. They deal with all the money. They do a lot of
math. Most of the accountants at the NGS say their job is challenging,
and that the hardest part of the job is to get all the work done on
time. Some of the accountants feel as if this is the best job they’ve
had so far.

The next job is digital imaging film review. In this field they support
editors for magazines, and work with a lot of photographers. The two men
I interviewed said they chose this job because it’s an opportunity to
help people, and because they like photography. They both consider
themselves good. One of the guys said he will be here until he retires.
They also gave me advice for people who want to work in this field. They
said that you should be good with computers and like pictures a lot.
The most exciting thing to them is getting work done early because it
makes the photographers happy.

The most interesting one to me is senior writer. They work in the
writing department and report and write photo captions. One of them said
they like their job because they like to write and they get to travel.
One of her adventures was in Australia. She went scuba diving to look at
the big coral reef. Her best experience was in Hawaii studying the
volcano. She’s been in this field for 13 years. She also traveled to
Ireland, Ecuador, Panama, and Indonesia. So these are the inside scoops
on NGS. This is Chabria reporting to you live.

Leo F.

Today at National Geographic! What interesting things people did here
and how it is not just work, work, work. There is good interaction and
people are having fun. I learned also about the interesting people who
work here. What I think might not be so fun is the work part, but it is
for a good cause which is giving me a better life.

I think I would definitely work at a place like this because every one
here is very nice and the environment in the building is very welcoming
and comfortable.

Marlayna S.

Mary’s job is to manage rights and international sales. She was born
December 9. 1971. What she loves about her job is she gets to talk to
people about all the cool books we make. When she was my age she wanted
to be a weather girl. Her job is important because she makes sure they
ask permission to use the book stuff. She went to college at the
Canisius College. If she makes a mistake in her job she has to figure
out how to fix it. She will somewhere in the future retire. But not any
time soon.

Ronald G.

Hi, my name is Ronald, reporting on National Geographic. Have you ever
seen NGS advertisements and wondered what [was] going on inside the
building? Well, today is the day you find out. During the interviews I
discovered how great National Geographic is. If I was offered a job to
work at NGS I would take it. The jobs that they have are fun,
adventurous, and challenging. It would be a pleasure for me to work
there. The best one for me would be the Digital Editing. Digital
Editing people get photos ready for the Photo Editors. The Document
Center people print over 3,000 or more pictures and documents a day.
Accountants account NGS books.

Iman G.

Today I went to National Geographic with my dad because today was
“father daughter day.” I came to National Geographic lots of times but
today was different. I saw kids everywhere and I learned a lot when I
was with my dad. I learned how to pick frames that match the pictures.
I also learned that the job that my dad does is hard. Everyone who
works in National Geographic, their jobs are hard. When I interviewed
Mister Al I knew his job was important because when someone is locked
out from their office they know who to call, “Al the Locksmith!”

When I come here I love the museum. It’s so nice. You ask what is boring
in National Geographic? Nothing is boring, because National Geographic
is cool. It’s filled with lots of interesting stuff. National Geographic
is a great place to work in but my dreams are to work as a doctor or
maybe a fashion designer or an artist. Well I’m only in seventh
grade–I have a long way to college. I’ve got lots of thinking to do.
Today was really fun.

Goooooo National Geographic!

Interview with Al Lynn

What do you do here, and what do you like most about the work you do?
He works as a locksmith. He likes to impress people with his skills!

How does it fit into the rest of the company? Because National
Geographic has over 250 doors.

What is a typical day like for you? Some days are busy and some
days are slow. Al says, “Like today is slow. I like today.”

What did you dream of doing when you were my age? Electrician, Al
says “but I never made it.”

What happens if you make a mistake on your job? Nothing, because
he could always correct his mistake.

What do you wish someone had told you about work when you were a child? His
family didn’t talk about work because he went to school and he loves to
go to school.

How do you balance your job with being part of a family? Six day
for the job and two days for the family.

Is there anything you wish could be different? Yes, better tools
and better reference to make his job easier.

How many years did you work for National Geographic? Over 30 years!

Emma G.

Today I interviewed Gina. She said, “I love my work just the way it is”
but she wishes every day is bring child to work day. Here is one of
the questions I asked her: What time do you get here and what time do
you leave? And she answered: I get here at 9am-5pm. The last question
I asked was: How do you help the Earth? And she answered: By using
cloth napkins instead of paper napkins.