In summary
CalMatters internships provide valuable training and make our work better.
Student interns are honing their skills at CalMatters this summer, and we’re proud to play a part in the development of these talented people. But they’re not the only ones who benefit. We at CalMatters learn a lot from our interns, and our work is better because of them.
This year’s interns are working across editorial, product and development. Here’s who’s on our team:
Anabel Sosa is a news intern covering the justice system.
Sosa (she/her) holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and recently graduated with a master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. At Berkeley, she worked on investigative stories in partnership with the Human Rights Center and Investigative Reporting Program. Her work has been featured in the New York Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting. She is from New York.
Rya Sara Jetha joins us as our news intern covering politics and inequality.
Jetha (she/her) is a recent graduate of Pomona College, where she earned degrees in politics and history. At Pomona, she worked for the college newspaper, led the college’s judicial system, and served as the editor-in-chief of the undergraduate law journal. She was a Dow Jones News Fund business reporting intern last summer at Bay City News and is joining CalMatters as a Dow Jones News Fund digital media intern.
Semantha Norris is our visuals intern.
Norris (she/her) is a Salvadoran-American visual journalist from Los Angeles. She received her bachelor’s degree from New York University with a concentration in international development and photography, and recently graduated with a master’s from the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism with a specialization in multimedia and photojournalism. She has worked with institutions such as the Los Angeles Center of Photography, the Annenberg Space for Photography and the Human Rights Center.
Ryan Loyola is our College Journalism Network intern.
Loyola (he/him) is a former CJN fellow who recently graduated from UC Santa Cruz, where he was co-editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, City on a Hill Press. While a fellow, he did compelling coverage of California’s student housing crisis (which is especially acute in Santa Cruz), learning about the intricacies of CEQA and interviewing displaced students who were camping out in hotels.
Bita Beheshti is our development team intern.
Beheshti (she/her) grew up in Roseville and is a rising senior at the University of Southern California. She is majoring in international relations with a minor in Iranian studies. She has done major fundraising projects for multiple nonprofit organizations and charities and has garnered collaboration skills, media literacy, and event planning skills in these positions.
Ryan Kim worked as our product intern during the spring.
Kim (he/him) is a Northwestern graduate with a master’s degree in journalism and a bachelor’s in political science. He specializes in media innovation and content strategy. Ryan is also a Medill Metro Media Lab fellow, where he works with local publications to assess new product ideas. He was previously the insights resident at Message Lab in Oakland.
Val Pantoja is an intern working with our engagement team.
Pantoja (she/her) grew up in Sacramento and is currently earning her bachelor’s degree in integrated media and strategic communications with a certificate in innovation and design from Boise State University. She has previous experience doing marketing for local businesses, has a social media marketing certification from Hubspot academy and is certified in Google Analytics.
Robin Cortez is our membership intern this summer.
Cortez (she/her) is pursuing a journalism degree with a concentration in marketing and advertising in Sacramento. She has collaborated with companies across two internships to secure brand deals, increase online visibility and grow engagement across social media channels.