Inside MyRye.com with Karenna Chader

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 Karenna Chader, 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: Karenna Chader

Your Title: MyRye.com intern

Describe yourself in one word: Resourceful 

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

Chader: Though I have always loved to write, this past school year, I took even more interest in journalism, and being able to use my voice to spread news. When I was looking for things to do this summer, the idea of writing everyday, and writing about my hometown, really stuck out to me, so I decided to apply to MyRye.com! 

Describe a typical day during your internship. 

Chader: My typical day would start at 9:45, when I would check my inbox for the first time. After that, I would join our standing 10 AM call, and speak with my editor about where I was, where she could possibly help me, and what my plan was for the day. After this call, I would send any emails I needed to, and then walk through town to get any contact information I could for my Q&A feature: Eating Rye. 

Tell us about one or two of your assignments.

Chader: One of my favorite assignments was one I did for Eating Rye. For this, I was in charge of interviewing local chefs, and reporting on their past and their restaurants. The reason that this specific story was my favorite, though, wasn’t because it was an easy write. While in the process of writing this story, I noticed there was a language barrier between the chef and I, and because of this, he was very shy and nervous. I had to use many different skills to get him to ease out of his shell, and get comfortable enough to open up around me. The best part of this, though, was seeing his coworkers at the restaurant take a genuine interest in his story (which I know because I was asked when the story would be posted about 5 times!)

What happens at the 10am stand-up meeting? 

Chader: At the 10 AM stand up meeting, we all meet to assess where we are, and what we have planned for the day.

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? 

Chader: 

1. Larry Kramer: One thing I learned from him is that a lot of journalism is simply being in the right place at the right time (something that happened to him many times!)
2. Chris Falcone: One thing I learned from Chris was that when reporting on big stories, or breaking bad news through a story, it is important to focus on the impact your story will have. Instead of feeling nervous about potential repercussions your story could have, you should think about how many people’s lives you are changing for the better, and let the good outweigh the bad. 
3. Anna Brugmann: Anna Brugmann taught me that even if you have a degree in journalism, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to write for a newspaper. She shared with us the many different professions that exist within the realm of journalism. 

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

Chader: As a rising senior at Rye High School, I have access to some of the most exciting English electives! This year, I will be taking a creative writing class, and I will be learning about speech writing and debating. I also intend on joining my school newspaper, so I can continue to write about my community!

Thanks, Karenna!