Sophia Cloherty
"As an intern with The Detroit Historical Society and the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History (AGLMH), I worked to develop a database collection project for art related to the Great Lakes regions. I often described this position as resident art detective. However as a project manager I was a detective, a designer, as well as an outreach coordinator, assessing the scope of works to be included and contacting public and private institutions to encourage involvement. The result of my internship was the beginnings of AGLS (Art of the Great Lakes and Seaways) an online public resource that will be available through the AGLMH website. Originally from Massachusetts, I was previously unaware of the rich history of the Great Lakes shipping industry. I was excited to be suddenly immersed in a whole community passionate about the preservation of the region. I am grateful to the English Department for my newfound obsession with the city of Detroit and surrounding ports—the histories, the dramas, the art and I hope to continue to pursue opportunities that increase awareness and accessibility to similar art related resources. Above all, I hope to be as immersed in and thrilled by what I do as my passionate and considerate coworkers."
Tahani Almujahid
"This past summer, I worked as an Editorial and Marketing intern for Michigan Quarterly Review. Usually, a typical week would look like this: an updated to-do list. Through this to-do list, I would do the tasks MQR needed urgently, while working on some side, long-term projects. One of my major tasks this summer was managing the MQR website, where I learned how to effectively use Wordpress to publish the pieces from MQR’s summer issue, Black Lives Matter posts that highlight works from MQR’s archives of injustices Black Americans face, other archival work, and much more. I quickly learned MQR’s marketing tactics, from format, to developing other marketing materials for the magazine that I compiled into my own individual project. I was able to see the many things that were needed to keep a literary magazine afloat, and just how much technical work that is overlooked. I was also able to spend time reading through MQR’s archive for both archive posts and fun! I will be continuing my work with MQR during Fall 2020; I am thankful for the opportunity and the English Department’s support."
Nina Molina
"Despite shouldering the challenges of running a local magazine, the Ann Arbor Observer welcomed me with such enthusiasm and generosity. My editorial internship there over the summer of 2020 reminded me of the importance of local journalism. With the guidance and support of my boss, deputy editor Josie Schneider, I had the opportunity to learn the trappings of how each section of the paper functioned. I had Zoom meetings with each department and got to sit in on production days to see how layout and design worked. I also had the privilege of writing two articles for the Observer's annual city guide. I wrote a shorter blurb on the efforts of the Children's Literacy Network, a local non-profit working towards spreading literacy, especially during the pandemic. I also wrote a longer piece on the various faces of Ann Arbor activism, interviewing widely different political organizers' approaches to making change. I'm grateful to both the English department and the Observer for this opportunity to have grown as a writer and journalist."
Stephanie Sorter
"I spent the summer as an intern at the Ann Arbor Observer. Every day I made posts for the Observer’s Twitter and Facebook pages, which have nearly seventeen thousand followers. I used page data to learn when posts got the most views and interacted with followers. I also interviewed local artists each week for a section I wrote for the Observer’s weekly newsletter. Additionally, I helped proofread the community calendar that gets printed in every issue, and at the end of the summer, I was able to write an event review that was published in September’s print copy. This internship let me use the writing and interview skills I’ve learned from English and journalism classes, as well as letting me see just how much work goes into online communication. All my work was done virtually, but my supervisors were amazingly supportive, and weekly meetings helped me get to know my coworkers. I also got to hear from each department to see how the paper actually gets created. I learned so much over the summer, and I’m so proud to have worked at such an important local company."
Claire Pajka
"Over the summer, I was a journalism intern for the Manchester Mirror, a small newspaper that reports for four rural townships in southwestern Washtenaw County. Though the remote intern position undoubtedly looked different than originally planned because of the pandemic, I nonetheless gained valuable experience in developing engaging interviews, synthesizing notes from town hall meetings, and researching and developing articles of my own choosing. The three person staff at the Manchester Mirror supported me as I combined my background in biology and ecology to focus on environmental topics relevant to the community, such as agricultural runoff and ecosystem restoration, and guided me with helpful feedback along the way. This internship experience has solidified my decision to pursue environmental journalism, and I am grateful to both the Manchester Mirror and the English Department for this opportunity."
