I inherited a love for journalism. My dad is a high school journalism teacher so from birth I was indoctrinated with an understanding of the importance of storytelling and truth finding. So obviously working for a prestigious newspaper like the Dallas Morning News was a dream come true. I remember crying joyful tears when I got the email saying I was accepted as a summer intern. I would report to the downtown headquarters every weekday, work alongside professional reporters, and maybe even get my own work published! I was ecstatic.
However, this was the summer of 2020. You know what that means. As with everything else that year, the COVID-19 pandemic ruined all of my plans. Instead of working in the office everyday, I had to stay at home and attend zoom meetings in facemasks. All of the magic and excitement for the internship was shifted to fear and disappointment with the “changing times.”
Despite the changes, the summer after graduating high school wasn’t a total waste. I had the opportunity to sit in on virtual editor meetings where they decided what stories would make the cover of the print edition. I was assigned a reporting mentor who I was able to learn from and work with. I also attended virtual classes about the demographic makeup of the DFW area that taught me more about my own community and the different kinds of people and cultures that inhabit its many cities.
