Eagle Intern Fellow: Tommy Milutin

The EIF internship I completed this summer was through a local newspaper in Silicon Valley—The Los Altos Town Crier is a small-town California publication that exclusively promotes the happenings and stories of its South Bay community. Having interests in writing, journalism, and reporting I applied for and obtained the position with the hopes of securing professional experience while curating a portfolio of articles for a future career in the field.

Having worked at a Boston College student-run newspaper early on during my freshman year of college (The Gavel), I had some prior knowledge of how a newsroom operated; though there were some differences, I soon adopted a routine and understanding of what a news reporter’s responsibilities consisted of.

I reached out to administrators, organization representatives, teachers, and locally owned businesses in order to write articles over an eight-week period. Some of the people I interviewed included a school district’s associate superintendent, the owner of a children’s bookstore, and the climate change specialist of an open-space preservation collective implementing new policies to protect California’s ecosystems from escalating global warming. Through numerous professional conversations, both in-person and virtual, I strengthened my interpersonal and communication skills while developing a proactive approach to ensure adequate, comprehensive, and informative sources were provided for the stories I published.

Other skills I established consist of becoming proficient in AP Style writing (the journalism industry standard), utilizing Otter AI to transcribe and record events and discussions, and brainstorming holistic questions in preparation for interviews. I grasped that while both preparation and professionalism are paramount in the field, so is the ability to be conversational, relaxed, and intentional with the flow of communication. Further, my writing improved steadily and I learned how to write substantive information in a narrow, focused way; covering a wide variety of topics, I recognized how my adaptability, self-direction, organizational skill-set, and consciousness lead to success in establishing relationships with those I interacted with.

In addition, I wrote a feature article about the annual Tech-Showcase in Mountain View, home of Google headquarters and numerous STEM-oriented companies. Attending both organization exhibits and discussion panels, I effectively synthesized the various components of the event while summarizing the main take-aways of the conference. I also expanded on the projects, goals, and missions of various organizations while conveying why Silicon Valley is the industry epicenter for autonomous driving vehicles, artificial intelligence, and tech in general. Meeting deadlines required consistent time-management, while my professionalism in email correspondence—alongside repeated and tenacious follow-up with contacts—allowed me to be successful throughout the information-gathering and writing process.

Throughout the summer, it occurred to me how drawn I am to the comprehensive nature of investigative journalism; while the internship did not provide opportunities to write holistic pieces on policy and the California/national housing crisis, it was clarifying to know that reading city Housing Elements, sleuthing through local documentation, and challenging systems of power/inequity are intangibles I readily possess.