Meet our interns
Lauren McIlvaine, Office of Development Intern (2011-2012)
“Interning at VOA has opened so many doors to me. I never imagined working in an organization where I would hear as many as 44 languages spoken around me, and would absorb a myriad of new and exciting cultures every day. There is never a typical day at VOA. One day, I could be researching health and women’s issues in Nigeria and incorporating this information into presentations or the next day, I could be writing proposals for new television shows. Interning at VOA has been an unforgettable experience, which will impact my life for years to come.”
Lauren will be attending The College of William & Mary in the fall of 2012 where she plans to study Government and International Relations. She was immediately drawn to VOA because of its focus on accurate and comprehensive reporting of international development.
Annie Wattenmaker, Office of Development
“I have truly enjoyed working at VOA because of its professional atmosphere and the people that work here. I never expected that working here would have such an impact on what I want to do later on. I learned something new every day and met the most incredible people from all around the world. Through all of my research and projects, VOA gave me the tools to think beyond the U.S. After spending a year here, I know for certain that I want to devote my career to bettering VOA’s mission worldwide. I’m so thankful for this internship and hope I get a chance to intern here again.”
Annie will be attending University of Virginia where she plans on studying medicine or international development. She chose VOA because of her interest in global development and how it relates to health. During her time at VOA, she worked in the Office of Development where she researched issues related to health, education and press freedom.
Salifu Kamara, Office of Development Intern (2012)
Salifu Kamara will be interning with the Office of Development this upcoming summer. He comes from Sierra Leone with a history as a child soldier during the Civil War. Despite his past, Salifu is focused on his education and studying International Development at American University. He is excited to promote his mission to give hope to the children who do not have the opportunity to openly voice their opinion. “I want to be the voice for these voiceless children. I choose life, to be peaceful, and to forgive. I choose not to live by my past, to move on.”
Salifu seeks to use his experiences at Voice of America to create a better and more open environment for children by means of radio and television. He also is looking to get his BA, masters, and eventually affect change in Sierra Leone to provide hope for its citizens.
Sophie Hattery, Office of Development Intern (2012)
Sophie has interned with the Office of Development from September 2011 – May 2012. She helped write proposals, think of ideas for future television shows, conduct research on global press freedom, and learned about video editing and the benefits of using social media. “I have become more aware of the dedication that many journalists put forth in order to capture a story accurately, as well as the under publicized adversity which many LDC’s face on a daily basis. Seeing the issues that many other news organizations neglect to frame in the media makes me value Voice of America’s work even more.” she said.
Sophie Hattery is a rising freshmen at Bucknell University, and hopes to study English with a minor in French. She chose to work at VOA because of its devotion to broadcasting reliable and unbiased news.
Adam Green, Office of Development Intern (2012)
Adam Green will be interning at VOA this summer (2012). Adam is proud to work at VOA because he believes the development office’s mission to strengthen free and open media across the globe is the first step to the proliferation of good governance, democracy, and international cooperation. One of Adam’s favorite quotes says “A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad”. Adam attends the University of Virginia studying international economics and foreign affairs. He is interested in diplomacy and international business and is excited to get a hands-on approach to international media & development during his time at VOA.
Courtney Duran, Office of Development Intern (2012)
Courtney Duran will be interning in the Office of Development this summer. She was drawn to VOA because its focus on bringing reliable news into international communities. She is interested in contributing to the proposals for broadcast content, journalist training programs, and solutions for community engagement through new media resources. “I admire VOA for striving to produce media that benefits international communities. It’s motivating to know that VOA delivers news to people that may not otherwise have access to objective information and that I will get to be a part of the process.”
Courtney attends Christopher Newport University where she studies Communication and minors in Leadership and Civic Engagement/Social Entrepreneurship. In the future, she hopes to work for media organizations that aim to promote social and environmental issue awareness and solutions.
Aneesha Yuvani Madugalle, Office of Development Intern (2012)
Aneesha is interning at VOA at the office of development over the summer of 2012. A native of Sri Lanka, she is attending Knox College, Illinois, majoring in Economics and a minor in Theater and Business Management.
“I have always had an interest in international media and world affairs. Therefore when I first applied I was interested in the prospect of working for VOA because they put in great effort and energy into producing and distributing accurate and comprehensive information to people living in all corners of the world. At the same time, VOA set the precedence for other broadcasting institutions elsewhere; the structure and organization of the company is something that I have always been curious about and to learn from the best will certainly be a thrilling process as the VOA staff takes an active role in the development of their interns.”
Nick McCulloch, Office of Development Intern (2012)
My name is Nick McCulloch. I was born in Washington D.C. Growing up my family travelled a lot and I was fortunate enough to visit a number of different countries and cultures while I was still fairly young. Currently, I go to school at the University of Denver where I am studying communications, Spanish, and public policy. I’ve had the opportunity to study abroad in both Costa Rica and Spain and come to know some of the people and places there. I like communications; talking, writing, and all forms of it really. My moms’ a lawyer and my dad’s a lobbyist so an interest in communications isn’t exactly shocking. However, as I see it, effective communication prevents confusion. It allows separate individuals to understand each other, which in turn allows those separate individuals to work together. At home and abroad the VOA is in the business of communicating, and facilitating communication for others. Whatever agreement individuals come to effective communication is a necessary first step, any other method is just inefficient.
