Intern-2-Intern

LAKEVILLE — Gwendolyn Craig, 21, of Goshen, is a rising senior at the University of Connecticut (UConn). A double major in English and journalism, she is eager to apply the skills she’s acquiring during a summer internship at The Lakeville Journal. Recently, she sat down with fellow intern Will Burchfield and divulged a glamorous past, discussed future plans and even talked a little basketball.WB: It would be wrong to suggest that every successful journalist is born with a pen and pad in hand. In this light, where did your first childhood ambitions lie?GC: I used to be a competitive figure skater. I trained at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury since I was 8, working with Russian world pair champions Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.WB: So the skates are hung up now?GC: Not quite. I still teach ice skating to students at UConn.WB: When did you become interested in journalism?GC: I’ve always liked to write. I started out as a journalism major because I wanted to write, and enjoyed learning about different cultures and different people.WB: What drew you to The Lakeville Journal?GC: Well, living in Goshen, there’s not much around and I knew The Lakeville Journal was a very reputable paper and I needed some journalism experience.WB: How long do you plan to intern here? GC: Probably just for the summer.WB: Then what?GC: Back to UConn for my senior year and then hopefully graduate school, where I plan to focus on environmental journalism.WB: Dream job?GC: I would love to work in the film industry, on documentaries.WB: I have to ask: Your thoughts on your school’s mens basketball team winning the national championship?GC: I was excited, but also disappointed that the girls team lost because I took a journalism class with Maya Moore and she was really nice.I also got to interview Geno Auriemma. I was writing a story about the practice players, the only team that had beat the UConn women at the time. ESPN was filming, but he gave me the interview. I was really excited.Will Burchfield, a Salisbury resident and college freshman, is an intern at The Lakeville Journal.