Inside MyRye.com with Intern Piper Tenney

MyRye.com welcomes college and high school 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 interns in the Summer of 2023 was Piper Tenney, currently a senior at Rye High School. 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: Piper Tenney

Your Title: MyRye.com intern

MyRye.com: Describe yourself in one word: Outgoing

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

Tenney: My interest in journalism first began when I joined the newspaper club in freshman year of high school. I had always liked to write, and I found that reporting on current events and issues was a lot more fun than just writing essays and book reports. I specifically chose to do this internship because I wanted to get some real-life, hands-on experience at a news outlet to see if I would want to pursue a journalism career throughout college and onwards. 

Describe a typical day during your internship.

Tenney: A typical day during the internship usually starts in the morning before our 1o am stand up meeting. First I would check my email or LinkedIn to see if I’d gotten any responses from people I had contacted the day before. Then, during the meeting, we would update Jay and the others on the projects we’d been working on and discuss what we would do that day to follow up. After the 10am stand up, we’d spend the rest of the day reaching out to people whether it be through email, over the phone, or in person. 

Tell us about one or two of your assignments. 

Tenney: I had the wonderful opportunity to research and interview Rob Sammon, a local artist who released his first solo album this year. He had such a unique story and it was really exciting to be able to share it with the readers. I also conducted a Q&A with a graduate from the Class of 1999, Steve Loddo. As a rising senior myself, it was really great to see someone who graduated from the same high school as I will, go on to lead such an interesting and adventurous life. 

What happens at the 10am stand-up meeting?

Tenney: The 10am stand-up meeting is a daily check-in with all of the interns to get organized, keep each other updated on our ongoing assignments. 

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

Tenney: 

Anna Bruugmann taught us that getting a journalism degree doesn’t have a straight path. You gain the skills of journalism like learning to write clearly, ask the right questions, and connect with an audience, but there are a lot of different careers that can come from a journalism degree.  

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

Tenney: This year I will be one of the Editors-In-Chief of The Garnet & Black, the Rye High School newspaper. I am also going to be vice president of Zephyr, Rye High’s literary magazine. I am taking AP Literature and Composition, as well as a Creative Writing elective.

Thanks, Piper!