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“My internship at The Roanoke Times in the fall of 1988 left a lasting imprint on me. I had trained in computer science and was just starting out in journalism. The editors at The Times threw me into the mix immediately and treated me as they did all the other reporters. It was a collegial newsroom, and I got a lot of mentoring from editors as well as writers. I worked on everything from breaking news to features to an investigation about elder abuse in local nursing homes. I will always remember my experience in Roanoke and now, as features editor of The Dallas Morning News, work hard to mentor and develop the interns we bring onto the staff here.” -- Tom Huang, now Texas Living Editor, The Dallas Morning News

“My internship experience at The Roanoke Times not only taught me the daily workings of a newspaper, but also eventually led to my first job as a reporter. I benefitted from the fact that interns here are given the freedom to grow as much as they can during internships. No story is ever out of an intern's reach, so long as he or she can prove worthy of it. And I also valued the support I received from my editor and fellow reporters. They were always willing to be sounding boards and mentors.” -- Kathy Lu, features editor for The Roanoke Times

“During my two internships at The Roanoke Times, I wrote breaking news stories, feature stories, business stories — and, best of all, my own stories. I wasn't simply handed assignments day after day; I was encouraged to come up with my own ideas — and if they were good ones, I was given the freedom to pursue them.”

“My editors gave me all the guidance I needed, but they also pushed me to become a more self-directed, self-sufficient reporter. And in the process, they helped prepare me for the challenges of covering a beat. The skills I developed as an intern were invaluable to me when I was hired as a full-time reporter after graduation.” -- Megan Schnabel, former intern, now Public Safety editor for The Roanoke Times