For the past month, junior Sofia Joucovsky, an international political economy major and journalism minor, has been churning out stories for the Denver Post.
As the Post’s latest breaking news intern, she has reported, among other stories, about how El Paso County tops the list of the state’s “speediest counties,” problems with train cars in Arvada, a coroner’s office identifying the body of a missing University of Colorado Boulder student, and a wild goose testing positive for bird flu.
Joucovsky, who is from Denver, is the third Colorado College student in a row chosen for the internship at Colorado’s flagship print newspaper.
“It's been a great opportunity to learn and meet incredible people,” she said about the internship, which is paid.
Last year, Leigh Walden, a senior computer science major and journalism minor from Larkspur, Colorado, published roughly 30 stories between September and December.
Her reporting included stories about federal Medicaid fraud indictments, city ballot measures to ban fur and slaughterhouses, the arrest of a Denver police sergeant, holiday travel at the Denver International Airport, and a Park County ATV death, among others.
“Working with the Denver post was an excellent opportunity to be hands on with a breaking news team,” she said. “The pace of breaking news is unlike anything I’ve encountered in any other job I’ve worked in journalism and pairs well with the kind of work internships usually offer.”
In 2023, the Denver Post tapped Michael Braithwaite, then a CC senior, as the paper’s spring intern.
The physics major and journalism minor published more than 70 stories for the publication and picked up freelance pieces after his internship ended.
Braithwaite, who is currently reporting breaking news for the Gazette following graduation, said the Denver Post internship offered him his first professional experience in journalism.
“It taught me not only how to analyze a story like a seasoned breaking news reporter, but also how to structure my writing to maximize a reader’s understanding of the story and keep them hooked enough to finish it,” he said. “Moreover, my editor allowed me to explore different story formats, mixing in short news briefs with longer enterprise stories to give me a well-rounded reporting skill set.”
To complete a journalism minor at CC, students are required to do an internship where they gain practical experience in a field in which they would like to work. Students also complete a capstone practicum project that often includes publishing journalism outside of campus publications.
As local newspapers retrench in communities across the country, students in U.S. higher-education institutions are increasingly helping to fill gaps in local news coverage.
In 2023, Colorado College journalism students published roughly 200 stories for local news outlets.
The bulk of those stories came from students who were doing internships or practicums and earning course credit for their work. Outlets included the Denver Post, KRCC, the Gazette, Colorado Sun, Sky-Hi News, Colorado Newsline, the Charlotte Observer, and more.
In 2020, CC's "Around the Block" initiative highlighted how students in the college's Journalism Institute "hit the ground as reporters in local communities."
More than 45 students are currently minoring in journalism through the Journalism Institute.
As for the Denver Post’s breaking news internship, Braithwaite encouraged more CC students who minor in journalism to apply.
“For anyone who is passionate about journalism and interested in the career path after graduation, this internship brings a true wealth of knowledge and experience,” he said. “I cannot recommend it highly enough.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this post stated it was the third "year" in a row. It was the third time in two years. Walden and Braithwaite both interned in 2024, in the fall and spring respectively.