A new class of journalism interns and fellows is joining VTDigger’s growing newsroom this summer.
Lia Chien, Kathryn Field, Jenna Peterson, Ella Ruehsen and Kori Skillman were chosen from highly competitive pools of applicants from across the country, including via VTDigger’s continued partnerships with the Dow Jones News Fund and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Field and Ruehsen started with VTDigger earlier this month. Chien, Peterson and Skillman will join the organization in June.
“One of the most rewarding parts of my job involves coordinating our intern and fellowship programs and then getting to work closely with those who join us,” said editor and interim executive director Jim Welch. “We at VTDigger believe that an important part of our mission is to inspire and help train the next generation of journalists — but we also benefit greatly from their perspective and the fine work they produce.”
Here is a look at the new members of the VTDigger team, each of whom will take part in breaking news and investigative reporting:
Lia Chien is a student at American University in Washington, where she is majoring in journalism and working on the student newspaper, the Eagle. A resident of Bolton, she also was the editor of the Profile at Mount Mansfield Union High School and comes to VTDigger as a Dow Jones News Fund intern.
Kathryn Field is a student in the sports journalism program at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications. A resident of Essex Junction, she serves as sports editor of the State Press at ASU and just completed a certificate program in global sports management at New York University.
Jenna Peterson is a student at the University of Southern California, where she is majoring in journalism and political science. She is news editor at the Daily Trojan at USC and was an editor of the Burlington High School student newspaper when it received a special New England Newspaper & Press Association award for successfully fighting a censorship effort by school administrators.
Ella Ruehsen is a student at the University of Vermont, where she is majoring in environmental studies and was recently elected editor-in-chief of the Vermont Cynic, the school’s independent student newspaper. She previously was a reporter and news editor at the Cynic and interned last summer at the Burlington Free Press.
Kori Skillman will receive a master’s degree this month from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, with a focus on visual craft and short documentary. She also holds degrees in journalism and international business from San Diego State University. Kori worked this year as a press intern at the New York County District Attorney’s Office.
