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Megan Watzin (University of Maryland) -- Reporter, Communities Team

“The best part of an internship at The Roanoke Times is that interns are allowed the freedom to find and pitch their own story ideas. The editors are not afraid to let interns who are willing to work hard take on responsibilities that fulltime reporters might have, including writing enterprise pieces and covering breaking news on deadline. It’s an extremely supportive newsroom, where editors and reporters often take the time to offer feedback and advice. During my internship, I wrote stories that included a Sunday A1 centerpiece about a government disagreement with the power company over environmental responsibilities at a local lake, several stories about the agriculture industry and even a story about an alligator that by a strange twist of fate ended up in Roanoke. The Roanoke Times provides everything an intern needs to make the most of the summer.”

Annie Johnson (Randolph-Macon Woman’s College) -- Reporter, Business Team

“My experience at the Roanoke Times has been outstanding. Most importantly to me has been the willingness of the writers and editors to treat me like a full-time reporter, and not as some coffee- carrying intern. I had the opportunity to cover various stories, whether enterprise pieces on cell phones or watching heart surgery for the day. I would have liked to see more brown bag sessions on writing and reporting (the session by Matt Chittum was great) but overall I have been very pleased with the amount of time and effort that the staff has put into the intern program. In a few short weeks (which went by super fast) I have learned some lessons only hours in a newsroom could ever teach.”

Maithili Chitnavis (University of Virginia) -- Reporter, New River Valley Team

“As a news intern at the New River Valley Bureau of The Roanoke Times this past summer, I had a lot of freedom in covering a wide range of topics. Most of the things I learned about journalism were largely “on the job,” since this was the first time I was completely immersed in a newsroom environment, working alongside other reporters and getting feedback from editors. My editors also took into account my interest in medical journalism, and let me pursue science stories for the New River Valley Current. The culmination of my internship, a Sunday cover story about the technology and tools of a local rescue squad, gave me an appreciation for journalists, and particularly, all the other members of the news team -- editors, photographers, layout designers -- who put so much effort into the final product. From discussions at Friday lunches with other members of the newsroom to revising my articles, each aspect of the internship provided a learning experience. The internship not only gave me the insight into everyday situations a reporter may encounter, but it also gave me the tools to work through such difficulties. Meeting new people, working as part of a team, and weaving together information from many sources to give readers a glance into something different were what I most enjoyed about my experience with The Roanoke Times.”

Christina Wright (Howard University) -- Reporter, Life Team

“The range of stories I have been allowed to cover this summer have tested my skills and patience. The goal I had to improve my writing has been achieved through the different types of stories and audiences. Although I was not spoon fed stories, I have not been left to drown either. There is a nice balance of help and self-direction that allows interns to ride the bike with someone holding it steady.”

Orr Shtuhl (University of North Carolina) -- Reporter, Features Team

“My internship at The Roanoke Times was like a piñata. Before I started, it looked exciting, even friendly – but by the time the blindfold was on, I realized I had no idea what to expect. My only portal to the paper was Roanoke.com, the papier mache encasing (the decorative fringes, of course, were the TimesCast). But when I arrived in Roanoke and the piñata burst, I flung off the blindfold to find myself in a familial circle of coworkers, all eager to help, teach, and make me feel welcome. Unwrapped, the pixels of candy spread on the floor offered myriad assignments; some of these involved meeting truckers, watching soccer, drinking beer, and dressing up like Martha Stewart. I practiced versatility, writing small bites and long feature, telescripts and podcasts. But as with any piñata, you’ll need to bring your own stick. The most valuable part of these internships is the staff’s openness to new ideas. Coming up with them is your job.”

Amanda Hicks (University of Missouri) -- Online producer

“I thought I would be doing “grunt work” as an intern. The online department needed an HTML coder who knew usability standards, and I thought they would utilize my programming skills. Beyond that, I didn’t know what I might be asked to do. By the end of my internship, I was attending budget meetings and throwing out ideas to top editors. And I wasn’t intimidated.”

“As an intern, I was handed an ongoing series about Hispanic immigration that received front-page placement for four days in two weeks and told to turn it into “something online.” This was a convergence student’s dream come true! With the help of an award-winning photojournalist and reporter, I developed audio slideshows, galleries, video and comments to add another dimension to the online product. The online coverage was teased in the print product, and the site received almost 9,000 hits in its first month — pretty big numbers for a small-market paper.”

“The managing editor called me a few weeks after I left to say someone in the newsroom asked where “that dark-haired girl in online” went. The editor said I was an intern; the staffer said I couldn’t have been an intern.”

Jeremy Borden (University of North Carolina) -- Reporter, Communities Team

“As Editor Mike Riley put it, the internship is a sink or swim deal. I wasn’t treated like an intern and I enjoyed the freedom to work on my own projects while covering daily spot news.”

Jared Soares (University of Kansas) -- Photographer

“I really could not have asked for a better internship. The warm and welcoming family atmosphere housed in the photography department, coupled with the ability to publish self-generated story ideas, made this newspaper the ideal fit for me.”

Sarah Goldfarb (Penn State) -- Copy editor

“When I go back to school in the fall I will be the copy desk chief at the school’s independently-run newspaper, The Daily Collegian. I feel like my internship experience here on the copy desk has made me more than prepared to take on that role. The copy editors I have worked with this summer at The Roanoke Times have taught me how to be an amazing headline writer, a grammar queen and a perfectionist -- one of the most important qualities of a copy editor. I wasn’t able to chose where my summer internship took place, instead I was placed in Roanoke through the Dow Jones copy editing program. I couldn’t be happier here though, it’s the perfect size paper and I’ve been able to do a lot more work than I thought I would be allowed to do. I’m not just treated as an intern, but I’m treated with the same respect and responsibility as a regular employee. I’ve gotten the biggest satisfaction this summer from writing front page headlines that everyone in Roanoke reads. I’ve learned and achieved more here than I thought was possible, now I think I’m ready for the real world.”

Joshua Garner (University of Maryland) -- Reporter, Public Safety Team

“While last summer my internship at the Roanoke Times focused more on feature writing, this summer I gained crucial experience on deadline writing. Not only did I shadow reporters who covered local and federal courts, but I was also able to write and develop my own stories within those beats.”