During my internship with the Tucson Sentinel, I wrote about 25 stories ranging from short assigned briefs to longer feature stories. Being in Tucson during the primary season, I was able to learn how to cover local politics. This involved watching candidates’ debates for different legislatures, and summarizing campaigns for our readers. I spoke to multiple members of the community relating to issues they deeply cared about, ranging from housing, education, and public health concerns involving the opioid crisis. I was also able to cover one of my interests, environmental solutions, through a story about the reintroduction of Mexican wolves in Arizona and New Mexico, and the conflicts between government organizations and local environmental activists.

The Tucson Sentinel's mission is to learn from and inform Southern Arizonans, providing in-depth coverage of local news, and promoting transparency and accountability in local governance and public affairs. My role directly supported this mission by delivering well-researched, factual reporting that aimed to inform and empower the Tucson community through short stories educating readers how to voice their concerns on ongoing public projects, or by providing in-depth coverage of the local primaries. Through my articles, I helped shed light on important local issues, provided a platform for diverse voices and perspectives, and contributed to fostering an informed community. This work aligned with the Tucson Sentinel's commitment to high-quality journalism that addresses the needs and interests of the community it serves.

My master's at Columbia sharpened my writing skills, enabling me to craft clear, concise, and engaging stories. This expertise was crucial at the Tucson Sentinel, where I wrote articles to effectively communicate complex information. At Columbia through my coursework, I developed strong time management skills and learned to collaborate effectively with peers and editors, which were useful in the team-work environment at the Sentinel. This summer, Arizona and particularly the Tucson district had a lot of primaries, allowing me to cover a lot of debates and forums around them and learn how local politics work with the help of other reporters. This was something I had been trained to do in journalism school but had never actually put into practice, so it was interesting to see the best ways to cover them and make them engaging. I was also able to put into practice the research and data skills I learned in school by covering various local policies that affect the community day-to-day.

During my internship, a newsroom journalist was kind enough to lend me his camera while covering local events and human-interest stories. I was able to practice my photography skills, which was a little outside my comfort zone. While I am no photographer, being thrown into the field with a story to write and a camera forced me to find creative ways to work, and I am now much more confident in my photography skills. I also encountered various challenges inherent to journalism while at The Tucson Sentinel, such as navigating complex topics which require extensive research and understanding intricate subjects often with technical jargon or complex legal frameworks. Another challenge was writing articles in a way that could resonate with readers with varying levels of familiarity of the topic. This is where my editors were very helpful in guiding me to find the right language or turn of phrase. Over the summer, they really taught me how to strike the right balance to empower the reader to understand the subjects at hand.

One of the big takeaways from my experience this summer was definitely a confirmation of the kind of journalism I want to do in the future and the kind of editorial line I want to follow. The Tucson Sentinel is a local digital media that practices deep watchdog journalism and has a trusting, reciprocal connection with its audience, which I found very inspiring to watch. I'm now certain that this is the kind of independent media I want to work for in the future, be it in the US or back home in Europe.

Overall, my experience deepened my passion for journalism and reinforced my commitment to pursuing a career where I can continue to inform and empower communities through storytelling. I learned to adapt quickly to new environments and deadlines, working effectively under pressure and built relationships with professionals in the field, expanding my network, and gaining mentors who have provided invaluable guidance and advice.