Lessons learned on both sides of internship

Graduation season is in full bloom as of this week as Hampton and Giltner high schools celebrated with pomp and circumstance last weekend while Aurora and High Plains will invite seniors to turn their tassels Saturday. I always enjoy covering these events, getting one last opportunity to shine the spotlight on students I’ve joined the community in watching as they learn, grow and blossom into young adults.
This year offered a close-up perspective on one student in particular, thanks to an internship program at Aurora High School which deserves all the praise and publicity it can get. We’ve had several students shadow staff members for a day or two over the years and some shared their thoughts in a guest personal column, but this is the first school-sponsored internship, which comes with academic credit, I can recall at the Aurora News-Register. Hopefully it’s the first of many.
Emma Bullerman spent the past semester as a news intern on the ANR staff, setting an example of how important and beneficial this opportunity can be for both the students and local employers. Principal Doug Kittle reported that there were 39 internship matches this year, involving a wide variety of local business and industry.
I’ve known Emma for a few years now having shared the football sidelines covering the Huskies, so was thrilled to learn of her interest in pursuing a career in journalism. Former news editor Cheyenne Rowe deserves credit for making a connection with Emma during a Connect the Dots exchange as a freshman, another great AHS networking program.
Emma spent approximately one hour a day, five days a week either at the office or on assignment, conducting interviews and taking pictures for stories that would eventually end up in print. She hit the ground running, no doubt about it, and has a gift for both capturing the essence of whatever her sources wanted to share in an interview and then bringing those stories to life in her own words. I knew instantly, as journalism teacher Rod Havens suggested I would, that Emma has a bright future ahead of her.
This profession has changed dramatically since my first byline appeared in print fortysomething years ago, and yet in some ways it is still very much the same. Newspaper websites and social media platforms have of course transformed how stories are posted and read, yet at the end of the day what we still do is report what’s happening in our community and share people’s stories, factually and honestly. It’s a skill set some view as a dying art in a world now accustomed to media spin, which in my view makes quality journalism, and credible journalists, more important than ever.
As the semester began I looked forward to sharing insight with a budding young journalist, while also listening carefully for ideas Emma might share on how newspapers can connect with a whole new generation of readers. Emma exceeded our expectations in that regard, writing stories and personal columns that required very little editing, and in fact seeking out assignments that might push her to learn something new.
In addition, she helped organize and host a youth advisory forum, where we invited several area students in for an evening of pizza and conversation about where they get their news and information and how newspapers, specifically the News-Register, might up its game.
That made this a win-win partnership in my view and I’m guessing every other participating business would agree that this internship program is mutually beneficial. Young people bring raw energy, ideas and a whole new perspective to the workforce and it’s refreshing to be part of a program focused on planting and watering those seeds here at home.
Job well done AHS, and Emma Bullerman, for creating and making the most of that opportunity.
KURT JOHNSON can be reached at kjohnson@ hamilton.net