Courtesy of SHSTV
Aradhita Singh reports for SHSTV on May 28.Throughout her freshman and sophomore year, junior Aradhita Singh worked as a reporter for SHSTV, spending her time filming and reporting the stories of students and staff. (SHSTV didn’t run as a class this year because of low enrollment and difficulty finding a teacher for it.)
But around February this year, Singh decided she wanted to branch out and try something new.
“I thought I should get some more experience in different forms and try to build up my experience as a journalist,” said Singh. “That’s why I thought it would be cool to interview or intern for a newspaper.”
Singh stumbled upon an opportunity at the Los Gatan, the local newspaper serving the Los Gatos area. She decided to email the paper’s editor, explaining her background with SHSTV and asking if she could write for the publication. Conveniently, the editor had been looking for a high school intern, and Singh landed the position. Also working there last summer was one of the four Falcon editors-in-chief, senior Anthony Luo.
For the duration of her near 3-month internship from February to April, Singh interviewed residents and attended a number of events, writing articles to be published both online and in the paper’s print edition.
“My experience was honestly amazing. I really loved that job,” Singh said. “It was such a fun time in my life.”
One of her favorite memories was covering a story about people removing trees at a country club. Of course, not everyone at the club supported this cause, and Singh found herself covering a surprisingly controversial story.
“It was kind of fun to be caught up in the middle of these grown-ups battling over trees,” said Singh. “I gained a lot of experience.”
Through the internship, Singh met new people, learned about her community and even accessed special local events. Although she cherished all these experiences, she slowly came to realize that this style of journalism wasn’t really for her; rather, Singh preferred the creativity and energy of her time at SHSTV.
“My internship was great, but it kind of made me realize I don’t love paper journalism,” Singh said. “I prefer making videos more.”
Even though the experience was short-lived, it helped Singh discover her true passion in broadcast journalism. Her internship with the Los Gatan gave her valuable skills, new confidence and a deeper understanding of what it means to be a journalist.
Although she wasn’t able to return to SHSTV this year, Singh hopes the class runs fall so that she can return to it in her senior year for one more chance to do an activity she truly enjoys.
