A&T Journalism Major Selected for Prestigious Internship

GREENSBORO, N.C. (Feb. 19, 2021) – Lauren Mitchell, a journalism major at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, is the only student from a historically Black university to be awarded a summer 2021 internship at The Washington Post.

The Post, consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top newspapers, selected 30 interns from around the country to serve in roles ranging from reporters and photographers to social media editors and audio producers.

Four interns hail from Northwestern University while three attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Other highly touted journalism schools had at least two interns each represented, including Indiana University, Arizona State University, Syracuse University and Columbia University.

“It still doesn’t feel like it’s real,” said Mitchell, who will work as an audience producer in the Emerging News Products unit and could be hired full time.

The first in her mother’s family to attend college, Mitchell works 20 hours a week as a resident assistant and puts in equally as much time as managing editor of campus newspaper, The A&T Register. She has maintained a 3.5 cumulative GPA as she nears completion of her degree in May.

Last year, she was chosen as a Dow Jones News Fund intern, completing a virtual internship with the Austin American-Stateman newspaper in Austin, Texas. She also has completed various freelance writing assignments.

Mitchell credits her success to the influence of some key people in her life.

“I did not have anyone in my family who was a journalist, but my grandma has always been the one who has pushed me to keep doing it,” Mitchell said. “She always talks about seeing me on CNN. I am not sure if that is my path, but her excitement has always encouraged me.”

So has the “tough love” she receives from David Squires, a lecturer in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, who Mitchell praises for emphasizing detailed reporting and writing.

Squires, for his part, praises Mitchell for how she responds to feedback.

“I could always see her growth from one class to the next,” Squires said.

Mitchell also credits her growth beyond the classroom, calling her experience as managing editor at The A&T Register invaluable. Emily Harris, the newspaper’s adviser, called Mitchell’s commitment “a true labor of love and testament to her desire to pursue journalism.”