Lee University journalism students Christy Armstrong and Jessilyn Justice have been selected to participate in a semester internship program with the Washington Journalism Center in Washington, D.C., where they will immerse in news writing for two D.C. print publications.
The Washington Journalism Center is an advanced, experiential semester on Capitol Hill that cultivates professional news skills and encourages students to think through the implications of being a Christian working in the news media.
A Cleveland native, Ms. Armstrong is a senior majoring in communication with an emphasis in journalism. She will complete an internship with The Washington Times, a full-service, general interest daily newspaper.
“Growing up in Cleveland, I never thought I would be spending part of my last year of college living, studying, and working in the U.S. capital,” Ms. Armstrong said. “As a journalism student, I love looking for new stories to tell, and I am finding no shortage of stories as I get to know this city.”
After her July graduation, Ms. Armstrong plans to pursue a career writing for a news organization.
Ms. Justice is a junior from Birmingham, majoring in communication with an emphasis in journalism.
She will intern for Street Sense, a biweekly newspaper that focuses on issues of poverty and homelessness.
“Journalism can be so challenging at times that I want to gain the ability to face them head on and provide strong answers for those who disagree with me,” Ms. Justice said. “I also want to gain more experience, develop my writing, and with it, a thick skin to take the criticism.”
Her plans after graduation include writing for a publication in the southeast region. Another possibility, she said, is joining the Peace Corps.
In addition to earning internship credit, Ms. Armstrong and Ms. Justice will take journalism classes through the WJC that will transfer to Lee credit hours.
The WJC program is one of 12 campus and study abroad programs offered by the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, an international association of Christian higher educational institutions.
For more information about the WJC, visit
www.bestsemester.com/wjc. To find out about other CCCU programs, visit
www.bestsemester.com/about.