LETTER: How one internship inspired a young mind

From Kylie Jacobsen
Hutchinson
College is a time for learning, new experiences and great opportunities. Although students pay thousands of dollars for higher education, often they restrict their learning to the classroom.

This past summer I was an intern for the Leader, and found that I learned, gained new experiences and had the opportunity any writing major would like to have. Currently, I am a sophomore at Southwest Minnesota State University and am majoring in professional writing and communication.

I was exposed to journalism in the 12th grade and found myself enjoying interviewing people, making deadlines and printing the final product. I decided to pursue a writing degree at SMSU the following year. On campus I got involved in writing for The Spur, the campus newspaper, of which I am now the news editor. My journalism professor encouraged me to find an internship that would allow me to experience professional writing and so I sent in my resume to The Leader.

To my great excitement, Mr. Doug Hanneman gave me the opportunity to write stories this past summer. He and the entire newsroom taught me the importance of AP style, perseverance in a story, the development of story structure, patience and an even greater appreciation for print news. During my internship, I had the opportunity to interview many different types of people and the chance to meet other journalists from the Litchfield Independent Review. With this experience I am able to perform my job as news editor and as a student writer with the confidence to succeed in my field.

Recently, my submission to the National Gallery of Writing hosted by the National Council of Teachers of English was accepted into the Southwest Minnesota Gallery. My submission was the first article I wrote during my internship: 115-year-old St. John's Lutheran School to close.

This letter is to thank each person I was introduced to, interviewed and worked alongside. I would like to especially like to thank Doug Hanneman, Terry Davis, Kay Johnson, Eric Kraushar, Jorge Sosa and Melissa Sullivan for, not only the opportunity to learn, but for giving me the will to learn more.