Meet the LJMN Media interns

Meet the next generation of journalists. This summer, nine interns have been working hard at The Lakeville Journal. Below, each wrote a brief bio.

Simon Markow

My name is Simon Markow, I am a rising junior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School. I have always had an interest in film and video production. Last summer I was looking for ways of how I could turn my passion into a summer job. I happened to see Riley Klein, the Managing Editor at The Lakeville Journal, covering an event in Cornwall. I saw that he wasn’t writing on a notepad and taking a couple of photos, he was actually recording everything on his phone and interviewing people, which he said he would turn into a video journal to post on The Lakeville Journal Instagram page. I thought to myself how perfect it would be to go to events in my hometown and record it. After talking to Riley, he was able to help me be a part of this summer’s internship to do video journalism. Since then I have gone to many events in and out of my hometown of Cornwall, making videos and taking pictures. I was also introduced to page layout, where staff create the pages of the newspaper, and I have been lucky enough to work on dozens of pages.

Since joining I have seen how much detail and effort goes into everything people do to make the newspaper or a video for Instagram, and a lot of those details might not even be noticeable to the viewers.

Being a journalist is not the career path I want to follow at the moment, but I know that what I have learned at The Lakeville Journal will stay with me forever. It has already opened up other opportunities for me.

It has been a wonderful experience working with The Lakeville Journal and I am incredibly thankful for this opportunity.

Ira Buch

My name is Ira, and I am a current senior at The Hotchkiss School. Before joining Hotchkiss, I spent ten years studying at a public school in Kyiv, Ukraine. During my time there, writing in all its forms has been my major academic passion. I participated in national essay competitions and started writing journalistic pieces for my school. This interest gained a sense of national duty when I witnessed the devastating effects of military and cultural propaganda in the Russian media preceding and following the full-scale invasion of my home country.

In high school, my dedication to writing evolved further and fused with a recently developed fascination with biological sciences. As my academic focus shifted towards research writing, I found it increasingly more challenging to connect with the personal aspects of the pieces and capture the nuances of localized events – skills crucial for effective journalism.

During my time writing for The Lakeville Journal, I have worked on this shortcoming. I’ve learned to confidently approach people, seek permissions for photos, and engage with witnesses of the covered events. These experiences have only deepened my passion for writing and journalism and encouraged me to further pursue this area in college.

Mia Barnes

I live in Sharon and graduated from Housatonic Valley Regional High School in 2022 after moving from Brooklyn, N.Y. I am a rising junior at Skidmore College, majoring in anthropology with a minors in studio art. I have a concentration in metal work, specifically turning vintage silverware into jewelry pieces. Though I am not studying journalism at school, I always had an interest in writing and “finding out the inside scoop.” Putting the two together, I thought I’d try my hand at journalism.

After speaking with Riley Klein, Managing Editor, and John Coston, Editor-in-Chief, I knew The Lakeville Journal was the right place to spend my summer. In previous years, you could find me working as a camp counselor at Camp Sloane YMCA, my only form of writing being in letters. So far, I have written more than a dozen stories, covering events and interviewing locals. My work typically revolves around the arts, wildlife, and children of the Northwest Corner. I learned everything it takes production wise from pitching a story to curating the headline from both the staff and other interns.

I am greatly appreciative of the environment that The Lakeville Journal fosters. From day one the goal has been to learn, but that learning isn’t one sided and even the most senior staff want to learn from us interns. I have also loved the numerous people I’ve met through the job, people that I typically would not have the opportunity to know.

It is safe to say my eyes have been opened throughout this internship; gaining incredibly useful writing and people skills while also being able to bring together different aspects of the community in one place.

Copey Rollins

Hi! My name is Copey Rollins. I live in Sharon, and I am currently going into my junior year as a day student at Hotchkiss. Before Hotchkiss I attended Indian Mountain School. I have done some sports writing for Hotchkiss as a cocurricular activity in the winter, which was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about different sports and having the chance to write about them.

I have discovered that journalism is a great way to meet people, find out about new things and practice skills that I do not often get to use. This summer I have learned a lot about interviewing people. It has forced me to be an active listener in conversations and has made me much better at having interesting and educational conversations.

I am not sure what kind of career I’ll pursue yet but, I have had a lot of fun and learned a lot at The Lakeville Journal, so I would definitely love to do more work with them.

Chloe Kolakowski

I am a rising senior at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, studying English and art history. I attended grade school at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York City and spent my weekends and summers in Norfolk. Spending my childhood at Tobey Pond and the Norfolk Library, I made some of my closest friends and will forever be thankful to the town of Norfolk for the wonderful memories it provided me. I recently started my job at The Lakeville Journal, as I spent the first half of my summer interning in the press department for Senator Chuck Grassley’s office in Washington, D.C., where I wrote press releases for the office, took notes on the Senator’s conferences and interviews, and attended many of the Senator’s TV appearances with the rest of the press team. I hope writing for The Lakeville Journal will offer me an opportunity to give back to a town that has granted me so much and will teach me about the other side of the press after learning about it from the Washington, D.C. insider’s perspective. My love of writing has been what inspired me to pursue a career in press in the first place, and I am excited to get back to fostering my creative side!

Gavin Marr

I am currently attending Boston University, pursuing an international relations major with a concentration in foreign policy and security studies. I completed my high school education at Millbrook School.

My interest in journalism stems from my innate curiosity and desire to gain information through means of first person experience. I love the uncertainty of reporting, the guarantee that every event will lead you to a unique experience.

The journalistic process requires skills that can be applied to a plethora of other proficiencies, which has made being an intern beneficial to so many other aspects of my life.

Working as an intern this summer I have learned that Journalism is a dynamic field, the medium to sourcing information is never a constant. In addition, conveying said information in written form demands a holistic approach to summarizing an event.

I plan on accompanying my studies of foreign policy and the Japanese language with journalism as I carve out my career. I am drawn to the idea of working in journalism abroad, then transitioning that professional writing into a different language. Being able to convey messages through a language that shares no similarities to my native tongue on a large scale through journalistic reporting fascinates me.

Josie Duggan

I’m currently working as an intern for The Millerton News and The Lakeville Journal. I have lived in Millbrook for my whole life, attending the Millbrook School for high school. I am going into my junior year at Bucknell University, in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where I am majoring in international relations and Spanish.

At Bucknell, I am very involved on campus, with leadership positions ranging from Greek life, community service, and outreach councils, as well as on club sports teams. This year I hope to be more involved in the campus newspaper, the Bucknellian. I am hoping to pursue a career in the field of journalism. I intend to combine myinterests in international affairs and journalism. This spring, I plan to study abroad in Granada, Spain.

This internship has been such a rewarding experience. Local news is so important, and this internship has allowed me to become more involved in my own community. Sometimes it can seem like there isn’t much happening in Millbrook and the other small towns in the area, but this perception of mine has been totally proved wrong! There are a multitude of local organizations and events happening that offer so much to those who call this area home. Sharing the truth and keeping people informed is so important. I have learned so much this summer during my internship, and I know I will be able to apply it to my future in journalism.

Kayla Jacquier

I’m Kayla Jacquier from East Canaan. As a business major, I am entering my first year at Northwestern Connecticut Community College. The origin of interest I had in journalism stemmed from my passion for photography. Nevertheless, I have been able to evolve my hobbies to connect with journalism and practice throughout the summer. I never anticipated the opportunity to join The Lakeville Journal with the internship program. However, the experience and skills I have gathered throughout my journey will help me in the future. The skills I gained range from communication to writing, and my knowledge of photography has enhanced. Improving my understanding of the community while being able to converse with locals and share knowledge with others has become an interest of mine. Moving forward, I will bring all I have learned at The Lakeville Journal to correspond with my business career path and lifestyle.

Ruby Citrin

I grew up in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and will be entering my second year at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, California. In a journalism class my senior year of high school, we watched the movie Spotlight, about the team of Boston Globe reporters who uncovered corruption in the Catholic Church. Marty Baron – editor of the paper when the story broke – lives in the Berkshires and visited our class to speak. Inspired by his humility and the reporters’ dedication to exposing injustice, I wanted to make my own impact.

I started college as a journalism major with no clue how to write an article and terrified at the prospect of conducting interviews. But as professors pushed me to develop reporting skills and confidence, I began speaking with student bands and keeping a blog about the thriving music scene in San Luis Obispo. Before this internship at The Lakeville Journal, I had only ever written for class assignments or my own enjoyment. Working in a real newsroom, I have adapted to a more collaborative environment: attending weekly meetings to discuss story assignments and pitches, receiving feedback and edits on an article prior to print. While I do not see myself ending up at a traditional weekly newspaper, I will carry what I have learned into future journalistic pursuits. Right now, I intend to spend my life exploring the backcountry and writing longform stories for an outdoor adventure publication.