Burton High School Summer Interns Join KALW
By Martha Sessums
This summer, it’s fun to be “singing Radiohead at the top of our lungs”* but some students are living – and learning — radio.
Meet the four new Phillip and Sala Burton Academic High School summer interns at KALW local public radio in San Francisco. KALW is an ACE Continuing Education Partner, and this is the second set of interns who will spend their summer doing everything there is to do in the newsroom, from recording and interviewing to mixing audio and creating their own stories to be aired.
Megan Quintana, Marco Choi, Ben Vu, and Christian Rose are all in their summer between junior and senior year. Their first day at the radio station was Monday, June 10.
Megan Quintana, Marco Choi, Ben Vu and Christian Rose (left to right) start their summer internship at KALW.
“I don’t know what to do,” said one intern. It can be intimidating walking into a professional newsroom for the first time, but Casey Miner, Youth Training Coordinator and KALW News Producer and Editor, reports that after a week of being in the newsroom, the interns are settled and working on their projects.
“They’ve all got recorders and did a great job with their first assignment last week,” said Casey. “They recorded a mystery sound that my colleague, Julie, and I tried to guess. They’ve already pitched stories and done their first interviews, which they are now transcribing.”
Over the next two months the interns will each produce a feature story from start to finish: pitching the story, brainstorming questions and sound possibilities, scheduling and conducting interviews, logging tape, writing a script and doing an initial mix.
“They’re all really interested in sound gathering and mixing, as well as in developing their interview skills and building up their confidence,” said Casey. “Everyone is settling right in — interns and KALW staff. We’re really excited to have them here.”
And Megan, Marco, Ben and Christian will be posting their thoughts and stories on ACE Spectrum, so we’ll read – and hear – their reports this summer.
Here’s my thought: does writing for radio make you listen better?
*from Avril Lavigne, “Here’s to Never Growing Up”