This summer, ThurstonTalk welcomes back four college students that have interned with us in the past. Watch for bylines from Maddie Elliott, Libby Kamrowski, Isabelle Morrison, and Courtney Murphy. This year, Jared Brown will also join the crew.
“Our college internship program offers students paid summer employment. These freelance writers work just as hard as their adult counterparts,” says founder and co-owner, Dan Jones.
Each graduates of Thurston County high schools, the college interns attend a variety of universities and maintain wide interests. Like all of our freelance writers, they pitch story ideas, conduct interviews, draft articles and submit completed assignments for publication.
“Diversity on our team ensures that we are sharing stories that are meaningful to a wide demographic of Thurston County readers,” explains Editor, Amy Rowley. “Our college interns are pitching stories that are important to them and likewise a younger demographic of readers.”
Courtney jumped into the college intern program in 2015. “I was prompted to start writing for ThurstonTalk last summer after my mom sent me a link to the application. I love writing and have written for both my high school and college (Whitworth University) newspapers. Ilove the Olympia area, so I felt writing for ThurstonTalk would be a great way to combine those two passions,” she says while adding that it’s “cool to be published somewhere other than a school newspaper.”
Isabelle joined our team initially as a high school intern and then stayed on into her years at Western Washington University. “As someone majoring in journalism, I think it’s important to be constantly writing, using those interviewing and reporting skills, and improving,” she explains. “Not only do I like writing in the summer for that reason, but also because there are so many fun, seasonal things happening at this time that could make for great stories.”
Libby, another high school intern turned college writer, says that “the real-world experiences out in the community are really valuable to learning the world of journalism.”
“(Writing for ThurstonTalk) allows me to meet new people around Thurston County and be more involved in the community,” shares Courtney. “There have also been times where I have gotten to support causes I care about through my articles, like when I wrote an article about the 4-H horse department.
“As a Communication Studies major, the ability to write for an audience is highly valuable. Writing for ThurstonTalk allows me to practice that skill in a real world setting,” adds Maddie.
Isabelle agrees, adding, “I think the more experience you have under your belt, the better. This writing experience has also built my confidence by seeing how many people had liked and shared my stories, or reading their feedback in the comments.”
“The most valuable experiences that I have are when I write and shoot for publications (such as ThurstonTalk) that don’t see me as a student, but see me as a reporter first. I don’t like being restricted by the boundaries of my age group or simple association with higher education, especially because sources treat you more professionally if you don’t present yourself as a student reporter,” says Libby, a journalism major at Gonzaga University.
“The work and experiences that I gain here at ThurstonTalk are the type that I am going to fill the rest of my life with,” continues Libby. “As a journalist in training, every single interview and every single portrait shoot counts: not just for building a strong portfolio, but learning how to perfect the skills that those activities require.”
ThurstonTalk is a digital media company sharing positive stories about people, places and businesses in Thurston County. ThurstonTalk offers content marketing and online options across our Community Social Network to advertise in Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, and beyond. Advertise with ThurstonTalk to reach your target market, grow your brand, and measure results.