By MDDC Staff
Seven journalism students have been selected as newsroom interns for the summer of 2024 through the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association’s Reese Cleghorn Internship program. Funding for these internships was made possible by Betty Osborne, the Delaplaine Foundation, the Goldseker Foundation, The Nutting Family Foundation and many individual donors to MDDC, including former staffers of the Herald-Mail who contributed to the Jim Schurz Intern Fund.
The interns were selected from a pool of highly qualified applicants. The intern selection committee, comprised of Ann LoLordo of Jhpiego, Chris Flood of Cape Gazette, Sam Davis of the Baltimore Sun, Tom Linthicum of MDDC Press Foundation, Walter Middlebrook of The Penn State University, freelance journalist Diana Sugg and Jamesetta Walker of Gannett, reviewed more than 20 initial applications, which included a personal essay, published clips and educational and professional references. The committee narrowed the field and conducted a panel interview with each candidate. Each intern will be treated as a professional working journalist at his or her host newsroom, with the expectation of generating 35-40 published clips and real-world experience during their eight-week paid internship. As part of the program, interns participate in a one-day briefing on how to get the most out of the internship. MDDC will also hold its popular “Into the Newsroom” series, which brings together reporters, freelancers and interns from MDDC member organizations for skill building training sessions. Interns will also be partnered with mentors, who will offer guidance outside the newsroom and coaches who will focus on writing skills.
The interns are (in alphabetical order): Sasha Allen, University of Maryland, College Park; Angelique Gingras, University of Maryland, College Park; Kiersten Hacker, University of Maryland, College Park; Apurva Mahajan, University of Maryland, College Park; DeMarco Rush, Penn State University; Tierra Stone, Morgan State University; Natalie Weger, University of Maryland, College Park.
Sasha Allen
Sasha Allen is a junior at the University of Maryland who will intern with the Herald-Mail in Hagerstown. Sasha studied journalism and creative writing while also working as a staff writer at The Diamondback News Desk. Sasha has a budding passion for journalism, and one of her references remarked that “Sasha is an academic honors student. She’s excelled in her journalism courses, especially those in print journalism. She’s successfully navigated and balanced life as a student, office assistant and reporter/writer for a myriad of print publications.”
Angelique Gingras
Angelique Gingras is a senior at University of Maryland, College Park who will intern with The Annapolis Capital Gazette. Angelique studied journalism and history while also interning at The Washington Diplomat. She has a passion for print journalism, and one of her references remarked that “Angel is an exceptional worker, extremely well organized, very smart, a quick study and a collegial colleague. She takes both direction and criticism well, and while she’s stressed on deadline, it’s no more than anyone else would be at her journalism level.”
Kiersten Hacker
Kiersten Hacker is a senior at University of Maryland, College Park who will intern with The Baltimore Sun. Kiersten studied journalism and public leadership while also working at Trader Joe’s. She has a passion for newsroom work, and one of her references remarked that “Kiersten has a strong sense for what is a story and what isn’t, as reflected in her pitches. She enterprised her own stories in some cases, and also rose to the occasion on stories I assigned her. She took constructive criticism gracefully. She was professional and very communicative on ability to meet deadlines. She was generally professional in her conduct in the office and dealing with the community for stories.”
(Image by DC Studio on Freepik)
Apurva Mahajan
Apurva Mahajan is a junior at University of Maryland, College Park who will intern with Frederick News Post. Apurva studied journalism, government and politics and geographic information sciences while also working at The Diamondback. He has a passion for journalism, and one of his references remarked that “He has done good and insightful work in the class while also taking a major leadership role at The Diamondback, the outstanding independent student newspaper here. I was very impressed that Apurva had a high-profile internship with Aviation Week, one of the top specialized news outlets in the country.”
DeMarco Rush
DeMarco Rush is a senior at Penn State University who will intern with The Washington Informer. DeMarco studied broadcast journalism and psychological science while also working as a radio DJ and runs WeTheNewEra, an e-commerce website. He has a passion for radio and journalism and one of his references remarked that “Demarco is always learning and getting involved in every aspect of the journalism field today. You will see from his resume that he has been involved in many print, online and broadcast content projects, and other creative writing endeavors including screenwriting. He is working all the time on various projects and does very well on deadline. He is also very willing to accept professional critiques and direction.”
Tierra Stone
Tierra Stone is a sophomore at Morgan State University who will intern with The AFRO. Tierra studied multimedia journalism while also working as a staff writer at The Spokesman. She has a passion for journalism and one of her main achievements thus far is “My article was submitted to WEAA, which is a public radio station that’s owned by Morgan State University. The WEAA website not only published my article, but they included my other pieces which include a video, and a podcast recording about my semester project as well.”
Natalie Wegner
Natalie Weger is a sophomore at University of Maryland, College Park who will intern with The Daily Record. Natalie studied journalism and information science while also working as a news staff writer at The Diamondback. She has a passion for journalism, and one of her references remarked that “Natalie was the centerspread section editor for our student newspaper. She also pursued journalism through multiple community organizations and outlets. In college, she studies journalism and writes for University of Maryland-College Park’s student newspaper.”
Congratulations to all the MDDC interns. Interested in becoming an intern in 2025? The application period is open from October to November. Read more about the program here. The Reese Cleghorn internship program is part of the MDDC Press Foundation, which is funded in part through donations from private individuals. Learn more or make a tax-deductible gift to the Foundation.
