Los Angeles Loyolan editor-in-chief Ali Swenson not only wants to be a journalist, but she wants to make the world a better place. At her summer internship, she learned she can do both.
“I like the sentiment that a story well told can change the world for the better,” Swenson says. “That’s why I’ve always been interested in writing.”
Swenson, a senior psychology major from Seattle, interned at TakePart, a Los Angeles-based media outlet “for people who care about the world and want to live their lives accordingly” with original content by “by journalists, activists, and experts about everything from climate change to LGBTQ rights to whether Big Macs should technically be considered food.”
Swenson says she found a lot in common between LMU and TakePart, and that she plans to bring lessons learned during her internship to her role as Loyolan editor.
“Both [LMU and TakePart] are passionate about educating the world for the good of the world,” she says. “So in that sense, I think it would be great to incorporate some of the larger world issues I grappled with at TakePart into the Loyolan‘s content.”
Of the stories she wrote at TakePart, Swenson says some of her favorites were about a 67-year-old man in India who fills potholes to improve his community, bike share programs across the country and why women may get cold in the office.
“I also learned a lot at TakePart about writing, reporting and filing a story on a short deadline,” she adds. “There’s no question that those new skills will bleed into the way I lead the Loyolan staff.”
As the Loyolan‘s first issue of the year published this week, Swenson says it’s an exciting time for student-run newspaper with its digital-first transition and mobile app, for which they’ll be rolling out new features soon.
With graduation a year away, the Loyolan editor-in-chief says her hope is to work for a large news organization, but is also considering post-grad opportunities abroad or graduate school.
Like Swenson, three other senior Loyolan staffers completed summer internships at significant media outlets this summer including the Reno Gazette-Journal, The Hollywood Reporter and Darling Magazine.
“These internships are a great testament to the type of students who are attracted to Student Media, where we try to foster an environment of collaboration, communication and creativity,” says Tom Nelson, director of Student Media at LMU.
Nelson added that the four seniors who completed the summer internships gave their fellow student staff tips and ideas on how to improve journalism at the Loyolan.
“Perhaps more importantly,” Nelson added, “[they] served as an inspiration to younger staff considering pursuing media internships of their own.”