Inside MyRye.com with Intern Tucker Smith

MyRye.com welcomes college and high school interns from the City of Rye throughout the year. One of our interns in the Summer of 2024 was Tucker Smith, currently a senior at Smith College. She completed this Q&A interview with us at the conclusion of her internship.
You can read interviews with various MyRye.com interns. If you have an interest in interning to work on writing, editing, photography or marketing, please get in touch with us.
Your Name: Tucker Smith
Your Title: MyRye.com editor
Describe yourself in one word: Curious
What appealed to you about local journalism and the MyRye.com internship?
Smith: I’m passionate about writing, editing, and publishing, and interning at MyRye.com gave me the opportunity to develop those skills while engaging with my community.
Describe a typical day during your internship.
Smith: On a typical day this [past] summer, I spent the bulk of my time reaching out to people at local restaurants and bars for potential interviews. This involved going in person to these establishments as well as calling and emailing them. I then added this information to a shared spreadsheet so everyone at MyRye.com could keep track of who had been interviewed or contacted for interviews.
Tell us about one or two of your assignments.
Smith: One of my favorite assignments was a feature about an archeological dig near the Bird Homestead. I visited the dig and interviewed an archeologist, members of the Bird Homestead and Meeting House Conservancy, and local volunteers. The dig site was the property of 19th century African American entrepreneur William Voris, and covering the dig let me learn about a piece of local history I was unfamiliar with.
What happens at the 10am stand-up meeting?
Smith: Everyone takes turns sharing the work they did that day, and Jay shares any relevant updates for the group.
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?
Smith:
- Randall Rothenberg, former IAB CEO and former ad columnist NY Times, explained how advertisers work with digital media.
- Matt Capaldi, a former MyRye.com intern, talked about a speaker from his time at MyRye.com who said that working in journalism equips you to explain complex information in an accessible way.
- Catherine Cioffi, communications director for Westchester County, talked frankly about how sometimes you make the wrong choice in careers, but you can always turn life around and find something you’re passionate about.
Where are you currently in college?
Smith: I am a rising senior (class of 2025) at Smith college.
Will you continue to study writing, English or journalism as part of your academic and extracurricular activities?
Smith: I am an English major. I’ve taken lots of writing workshops that have helped me develop my own writing and required me to help revise my peers’ writing. This year, I’ll be writing an honors thesis with an advisor from the English department.
Thanks Tucker!