Times of San Diego is proud to welcome four spring semester interns from university journalism programs in San Diego and Phoenix.
The four are Tessa Balc from Point Loma Nazarene University, Serena Neumeyer from San Diego State University, and Kira Caspers and Fatima Gabir from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University.
Balc, a native of Chicago, is a senior majoring in political science and journalism. She serves as news editor of The Point Weekly Newspaper, and previously interned at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“I have grown to love San Diego as another home of mine,” Balc said. “To be able to serve my community through information and storytelling is something that brings me joy.”
Neumeyer is a recent summa cum laude graduate from SDSU who finished the Weber Honors College program and earned a Liberal Arts degree in Journalism. The San Diego native served as social media editor during her time at The Daily Aztec, and just completed an internship with The San Diego Union-Tribune. As a student journalist, she was awarded the San Diego Press Club’s Frank Saldana Memorial Scholarship and Society of Professional Journalist’s San Diego Area Merit Scholarship.
“Even after graduating I still believe I have room to grow as a journalist and I am so eager to gain some guidance from professionals here at Times of San Diego,” Neumeyer said. “I’m so grateful for the time I had at The Daily Aztec and The San Diego Union-Tribune but I’m even more excited to enter this new chapter at a new publication.”
Caspers is a junior from the Phoenix area who previously interned at the Arizona Republic and Times Media Group in Tempe. She has a scholarship to study journalism from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Media Fellows.
“I’m very excited to join the Times of San Diego team,” Caspers said. “All of my student and professional reporting has been from Phoenix, so I’m looking forward to getting to know the people and city of San Diego.”
Gabir is a junior majoring in journalism and minoring in justice studies. She previously interned at Phoenix Magazine and wrote for The State Press, ASU’s student-run news organization.
“I am thrilled to be a part of Times of San Diego this semester and serve the San Diego community,” Gabir said. “Local news is very important to me, and I’m happy to report on San Diego from my hometown Phoenix.”
Funding for their internships comes through Times of San Diego’s partnership with NEWSWELL, a nonprofit affiliate of ASU. They started Jan. 6 and have already written numerous articles.
Times of San Diego plans to provide a number of internship opportunities every semester to journalism students in California and Arizona.
