Inside MyRye.com with Intern Drew Burnham

MyRye.com welcomes interns from the City of Rye. If you have an interest in writing, editing or photography, please get in touch with us. One of our Rye High School senior interns in the Spring of 2022 was Drew Burnham. She completed this Q&A interview with us at the conclusion of her internship. You can read interviews with various MyRye.com interns.

Your Name: Drew Burnham

Your Title: MyRye.com Spring 2022 intern

MyRye.com: Describe yourself in one word: Caring

What appealed to you about local journalism and the MyRye.com internship? 

Burnham: I’ve always loved to write, so I knew that I wanted my internship to have some writing aspect to it. I also love meeting new people and learning about their interests, so journalism was a clear fit. MyRye.com appealed to me because I would be able to go out into the field and immerse myself in the community and local news, and then come back home and write about it. 

Describe a typical day during your internship.

Burnham: We had a daily standup meeting at 10am, where we would discuss our success in the field so far, as well as our plan for the day and upcoming week. Having a 4 week timeframe was difficult, because so much of the internship was waiting for responses and continuing to reach out to people, but Jay’s organization of individual tasks made it much more manageable. There was a lot of time spent emailing/calling people, but it was also fun to go out around town and try and catch people in person. 

Tell us about one or two of your assignments.

Burnham: Lainey and I covered the Memorial Day Parade, which was a really eye opening experience as I had never been before. We started at the train station, where we photographed pRYEde murals, the girl scouts/boy scouts, the Rye Boxing Club, etc. When we reached the village green we got to hear veterans speak, as well as some of our fellow classmates who were recipients of awards. Finally, we headed to Rye Rec where the flag was raised and a moment of silence was held in honor of our fallen soldiers. Getting to experience the entirety of this event for such an important day in history was both a terrific learning experience revolving around journalism, but also a terrific experience in general. 

What happens at the 10am stand-up meeting?

Burnham: I sort of touched on this, but we discuss any feats or defeats we’ve had in the past few days, ask Jay any questions, decide which interns will cover certain events, and make sure that everything is running smoothly.

The MyRye.com interns heard from seven guest speakers, all with connections to local media. What were three of the more interesting things you learned? 

Burnham:

1. Bill Madden interviewed Michael Jordan before he became super famous, which taught me that it’s vital to jump on any journalism opportunity because you never know what could come of it. 
2. Liz Giegerich discussed the importance of internships (and many different types of them). The only way to find what you’re passionate about is to immerse yourself in real life experiences that can teach you about the field. 
3. I learned from Lisa Buchman that journalism requires social skills that allow you to jump right into questioning and discussion in order to get the best answers. 

Where are you headed to college?

Burnham: In the Fall I am headed to Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Do you plan to study writing, English or journalism as part of your academic and extracurricular activities?

Burnham: I haven’t declared a major yet, but my indicated area of interest is in English with a minor in Media and Journalism. 

Thanks and best of luck Drew!

This Q&A was completed in June 2022 when Drew Burnham was completing her MyRye.com internship.