By Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab
When nominations for the Canada's coveted National Newspaper Awards were announced Monday, March 21 two of the The Star's 16 nominations were for former reporting interns.
Jennifer Yang and Raveena Aulakh helped win the Star top spot with more nominations this year than any other paper in the country.
Yang, who finished the one-year internship program in September, was nominated in the explanatory work category for her article on the effort to save 33 Chilean miners trapped underground for 69 days.
Aulakh, a one-year intern in 2008, was recognized in the international reporting category for her stories on the emigration of young men from Punjab villages to the West.
Here is what they had to say about the nomination:
Jennifer Yang:
What were you nominated for?
An explanatory feature I wrote on the rescue of the 33 trapped Chilean miners.
How does it feel?
It feels great and a little surreal. I'm still getting over the fact that I got to go to Chile in the first place!
Do you think your time in the Star intern program helped you get this nomination?
Definitely. I learned so many skills, and gained so much confidence, during my year interning at the Star. I'm not sure I could've pulled off this assignment without that year under my belt.
Raveena Aulakh:
What were you nominated for?
The nomination is for International Reporting for a series of stories dealing with immigration issues. The lead story was about life of women and seniors in Punjab villages, which are bereft of young men -- they have left to seek a better life in the West.
The exodus of thousands of young men from Punjab villages was a story that had never been told. We have always written stories about the impact of immigration on Canada; what happens when immigrants arrive in a new country and how they cope. What no one had written about was what do they leave behind: empty villages, insecure women and seniors and dozens of social problems. I knew and understood the story because I was born and raised in India and I had seen it play out many times in villages in Punjab. I could ask probe and ask questions that others could not.
How does it feel?
It feels really good because a) it is my first such nomination in Canada, and b) it's a validation of the faith many, many editors have in me.
Do you think your time in the Star intern program helped you get this nomination?
The Star's intern program is the best possible training ground where interns are trusted with the biggest and best stories. Anyone who can pull off that one very, very busy year can do anything. Seriously.
Alexandra MacAulay Abdelwahab is an intern in the radio room. She is finishing up her fourth year of journalism at Ryerson. You can follow her on Twitter
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