A Few Words About Interns

Over the years, Northwest Prime Time has had a number of college student interns, from both the University of Washington and my alma mater, Western Washington University. (It was still Western Washington State College rather than a university when I started there in 1974, although the name changed in 1977 while I was still in attendance.)

I typically found these interns – who were majoring in journalism – to be enthusiastic and well-prepared to contribute their skills to Northwest Prime Time.

It was great having help. And it was really great interacting with young people on the verge of launching themselves into the wider world of becoming an adult.

I enjoyed assigning new interns with the task of interviewing their grandparents and gathering photographs for an article that would appear in the newspaper. Interns also interviewed our columnists so readers could learn a bit more about the regular writers they enjoyed so much each month.

Interns helped tremendously with formatting, proofing, and writing articles on a wide variety of “aging” type stories for Northwest Prime Time. In addition to reworking the endless stream of press releases, they also contributed a number of profiles and in-depth research articles.

Sometimes I would assign “on-the-street” type interviews of local seniors. One series, LIFE LESSONS from 2014, asked the same four questions:

• What have you found are the best aspects of growing older?

• What’s the best advice you could give to a younger person?

• What thing from your childhood are you nostalgic about?

• What changes in the world do you think are for the better? 

My father, Clarence Howard Roedell, Jr., was still strong and very active when he answered these questions at age 90. My father was a humble man of few words—still, reading his answers again after all these years and imagining that wry grin he probably had on his face while talking to the intern was a wonderful experience.

My father passed away last year at nearly 98. It was good “hear” from him again.

Here is what he had to say back in 2014:

What have you found are the best aspects of growing older? “Let’s see. You don’t have to worry about people. You’re old, so you can get away with stuff. You get senior discounts!”

What’s the best advice you could give to a younger person? “Just live your life and be friendly. Watch out for other people and take care of them if they need help. Take one day at a time, and make sure that you’re doing what you want to do, not something that you have to do.”

What thing from your childhood are you nostalgic about? “As a kid, I remember playing a lot outdoors. As I grew older, I liked doing sports.”

What changes in the world do you think are for the better? “I would say all the electronics. You’ve got giant color TVs, cell phones, computers, that kind of stuff.”

That sounds just like him. Thanks, Dad.

In case you missed them, you can catch up on past blog posts with the links below:

• My First Blog Post
• Luck, Pluck and Schemes: On becoming a first-time publisher
• Who Is That Cover Boy?
• Goodbye and Hello
• Our Very Own Field of Dreams
• A Northwesterner’s New York Pride
• The Nun with the Heart of a Newspaper Woman
• You Fool Me Every Time, Old Man
• Call in the Bomb Squad! 
• A Parade of Pets
• What's in a Name?
• The Grand Prize: When I met Sy Rosen
• It's a Small World
• Jason Reynolds to the Rescue