I’ve been waiting months for summer. No, I am not going on a cruise to Alaska, nor visiting all the major league ballparks.
I am excited because this summer we are welcoming a bunch of people to The Columbian’s reporting ranks:
- Summer intern Anna Mattson started with us on June 20. Mattson is a recent graduate of the University of Oregon and a participant in its Charles Snowden endowed summer internship program. As of midweek, she already had eight Columbian stories published, ranging from archaeology to youth activities. I think my favorite so far was last Sunday’s piece on how the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling regarding climate change regulation might affect Washington’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
She has an interest in covering these important environmental and climate change stories, and plans to pursue a master’s degree in environmental journalism after she leaves us at the end of the summer.
- Our other summer intern, Zoë Buhrmaster, started on Tuesday and has already had two stories published. She’s a recent graduate of Clark College and our fourth participant in the Clark College Foundation’s Dee Anne Finken endowed summer internship program. After her internship ends in September, she will attend Portland State University to study anthropology, and plans to keep her hands in student journalism.
I am a fan of this internship program, because it creates opportunities for local students to explore a journalism career while they are still in college. Some may decide it’s not for them, but I hope we’ll create some journalists along the way, too.
