Albany democrat herald3/31/2023 ![]() I repeatedly questioned if this was the right career path for me. Sometimes, I changed the angle entirely and found a breakthrough there. Whenever I felt stuck, I revisited my notes or started writing from a point in the story other than the beginning. I was surprised to find I encountered writer's block on a regular basis. I traveled to the scene that same day, and after several powerful conversations with Vietnam veterans and the event coordinators, I produced a story that I still proudly point to in my portfolio. One week, through a little digging and Facebook group posts, I pitched a mobile veterans trailer piece to my editor. While most stories were passed along by my editor, coworkers or news tips, I also wanted to find ones of my own. Often, I worked on stories in tandem with the other intern, a talented photojournalist who made every assignment an adventure. In the newsroom, I felt supported, inspired and challenged to write with excellence. One of my favorite parts about my internship was building a culture of camaraderie with the other reporters. The story she wrote was one of her first clips in her reporting internship at the Albany Democrat-Herald this summer. Journalism major Kayla Nguyen '23 (right) interviews Hannah Engom (left) and Teri Conklin (center) at Ophelia's Place, a prevention-based nonprofit supporting youth girls in Albany. I even covered the crime beat for a few days - an incredibly stressful and fast-paced experience, but a valuable one all the same. At one point, I handled 10 story ideas at once. And I was diligent in following that advice. "Be tenacious,” a former Clark Honors College mentor advised last spring. My pieces consistently made the front page of the paper, which drove me to say yes to every assignment offered to me. I wrote about art break days, biopharma facilities, a hobby shop that closed after a 50-year run and more. That sort of unknown thrilled me because it meant I could step into many different worlds and learn from a place of humility.įrom fairs to nonprofits to park commemorations, I covered it all. In the newsroom, I wrote off-beat, covering everything, which meant each day brought something new. I commuted daily between Portland and Albany. The coming weeks would bring a whirlwind of interviews, on-scene reporting and countless clips. I flared up with pride as I looked down at my byline, bolded under the centerpiece story. The next day, my pictures and text made the cover page. An hour and a half later, my first story was in. Shortly into writing, autopilot switched on, fueled by years of practice in rigorous reporting classes. with intense panic burning in my chest, I focused on making sense of my scribbled notes. After rushing back to the newsroom at 3 p.m. Along with interviewing, I was tasked with taking and captioning photos to run with the story. My first assignment: a downtown Albany bargain clothing event. ![]() The next, I was thrown right into the deep end. My editor showed me to my desk, where I shyly greeted everyone and listened carefully to a tutorial on how to work Blox, the Democrat-Herald’s digital (and notoriously fussy) story publishing tool. I knew this news reporting position represented everything I had looked for in a summer internship and willed myself to regain the confidence that landed me the job.īut on July 6, as I walked into a newsroom full of curious eyes, ringing phones and stacks of papers, I felt all-too aware of my lack of professional experience. It reminded me not only of my hard-earned accomplishment, but of the crucial work still to come at the Albany-Democrat Herald.Ī nervous anticipation began to settle on my shoulders. On July 2, I returned home from a spectacular European cruise to find internship paperwork waiting patiently in my email inbox. 4, as part of her news reporting internship at the Albany Democrat-Herald. Kayla Nguyen (center) takes notes on a speaker at the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Commemoration in Corvallis' Riverfront Commemorative Park on Aug.
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