Living up to the standards

On the last day of orientation earlier this Spring, we gathered and shared our deepest, darkest fears about our internships.

We were unanimously scared of not being able to step up to the challenges of the newsroom, especially those of us with no prior internship experience. A lot of things could go wrong -- we wouldn't be able to make deadline, we would mess up names or facts, or, worst of all, we would fail if ever the opportunity for that big story presented itself.

I'm happy to tell you that I don't have that fear anymore. After working here, I know I can step up to the challenges of a story wherever I might find myself. During my tenure at The Jackson Sun, I've published articles on what turned out to be high-profile events: the minister's wife accused of killing her husband and fleeing to Alabama with her kids; tornadoes that devastated nearby counties; and the trial of a man who threatened to bomb a federal building. I'm not saying that I wrote the stories without a hitch. There definitely were problems, but they weren't career damaging. I was able to overcome them with the help of patient editors and kind reporters.

“You've definitely lived up to the standards of our past Chips Quinn interns,” Executive Editor Dick Schneider said the other morning. That I have stepped up and fulfilled the legacy of Chipsters before me – that was one of the best compliments I could have received.

The newspaper extended my internship by two weeks. Before I go, I hope to use my time to set the bar a little higher for the next Chips Quinn intern.

-- Andrew Tran, University of Texas, The Jackson Sun