This summer has marked another successful season for journalism interns at The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News. Both newspapers have been blessed with outstanding contributions by a group that ranged from a rising high school senior to a recent high school graduate to college undergraduates with journalism careers in their sights.
Our five, paid summer interns have turned out many stories this summer that have entertained and enlightened readers with the best kind of community journalism.
Ella Hewins, a 2023 graduate of Housatonic Valley Regional High School wrote about scholarship money that was left on the table because of a lack of applicants. Hewins, who will be entering the University of Vermont this fall, pointed out that students have cited many reasons for not applying for some scholarships, including the Fulton Fund Scholarship, which is offered to students living in Salisbury. Some claimed that it is too time consuming on top of school work and outside school activities. Others were convinced that they didn’t compare well to other applicants. Principal Ian Strever told Hewins that he knew of students in Salisbury who could have used the money.
Sadie Leite, a Tufts University undergraduate who is interning at The Lakeville Journal for her third summer, wrote about students at the Salisbury School who replaced a monoculture hillside at the school with a ‘pollinator meadow.’ In the end there will be 45 species of plants in the meadow that will be mowed once a year, starting next spring. Leite also reported another science-based story about Lake Wononscopomuc, which this year became so dominated by algae growth that the lake association called in an expert to assess. More recently Leite chronicled the progress on a Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Connecticut program to provide affordable housing in North Canaan.
Emma Benardete, a member of the Class of 2025 at Oberlin College, also has returned as an intern this summer after an intern stint last year at The Millerton News. Benardete is Editor-in-Chief of The Oberlin Review, and her contributions this summer include a Q&A with 11-year old Ivan Howe of Millbrook as he prepared for his role as “Oliver!” in The Sharon Playhouse production. She also has covered The Wetland Trust, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to acquiring and restoring wetland areas, and to preserve some turtle populations through its Hudson Valley Turtle Initiative. And she reported on the impact of July’s rainfall and flooding on farms in Dutchess County.
Colleen Flynn, a rising senior at Marist College majoring in communications and journalism, began her internship in June and has written many stories ranging from Dutchess County’s formation of a domestic violence unit to a talk by author Lorrie Moore about her new novel, “I am Homeless If This is Not My Home.” Recently she wrote about a new parent/teen driving program in Dutchess and Putnam counties.
Our fifth summer intern, Emma Spindler, is a rising senior at Kent School. Her journalism debut this summer included teaming up with Riley Klein and Patrick L. Sullivan to cover the annual Falls Village Car and Motorcycle Show. In between other stories, Spindler also filed an in depth look at a program at Sharon Hospital that allows high school students like herself to explore health care careers.
We wish our interns the best as they launch into their fall semesters, but before they leave we’ll share with you what they have to say about their experience working in community journalism.
Meg Sher, executive director of the David M. Hunt Library in Falls Village.L. Tomaino 
