WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY

Students from different countries and academic backgrounds share their RGNN Academy experiences.

MORE TESTIMONIALS FROM OUR STUDENTS

“This Internship & Mentoring Program provides such an enriching opportunity to engage in your own interests in a meaningful and professional way, by forcing you to employ all of the characteristics I admire: independence, passion and dedication, seen as an example in every single mentor that we have been honored to have met.”

Sara Cordovez, University College London (UK), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“I liked the freedom to choose any article topic and the process of creating my article. RGNN Expert Benjamin Jones was open to any ideas we wanted to cover and I liked going out, doing the research, and then creating my work. This [Internship & Mentoring Program] just reinforced what I already know: you are a better person when you have seen more of the world and gotten outside of your small corner of the globe.”

Jordan Hart, Palm Beach Atlantic University (Australia), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“I liked the variety of activities that also served as a learning experience, such as walking around for a photography workshop tour to see more of a city with someone who knows it very well but also get good tips on taking better quality photos.”

Natalie Bauta, University of Florida (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“All of the staff were extremely professional and helped me create a portfolio specific and unique enough towards my area of specialty that I know believe I can get a job anywhere, even in fields unrelated to what I worked on in Madrid.”

Garen Powers, University of North Texas (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“We all came from different areas of the world, grew up with different cultures and we have so many different stories to share. It was so awesome to work with them, ask them for advice and exploring the beautiful city of Madrid together.”

Lillie Sun, University of Western Ontario, RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“[This Internship & Mentoring Program] was most definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity considering it is located on the other side of the world from where I live.”

Tabata Gordillo, California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Madrid, Spain

“I truly enjoyed the guidance of our mentors. They were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Whenever I had a question, they were always attentive and eager to share their insights. I have acquired new marketing skills in such a short period of time. Although the activities were fun, they were also challenging. There was never a dull moment.”

Kriscia Calimbahin, Boston College (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“Pitching ideas every morning and getting feedback from one another during editorial meetings enabled me to experience what it is like to work in a newsroom-environment, too. It also created a network of journalists and friends that I can connect with for our future projects and career.”

Mingu Cho, New York University Abu Dhabi (UAE), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“I liked that we were a small enough group that we were able to receive plenty of one-on-one guidance.”

Jessalyn Jahn Castro, Midwestern State University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“I loved working with Benjamin Jones and getting feedback about our writing and what we had done. I found his tips and tricks to make travel journalism more affordable very interesting.”

Elyse Armstrong, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“I really, really appreciated a hard set of rules and guidelines and a packet of information to study. This gave [the Internship & Mentoring Program] a good sense of structure.”

Laura Zornosa, Northwestern University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“I enjoyed all of Benjamin Jones’ workshops because they were specific, he gave great feedback that I can use and remember in the future for my career.”

Yafa Dias, Temple University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“What I liked about the Internship & Mentoring Program was that we were able to work one-on-one with RGNN Expert Benjamin Jones in order to go over the pieces we had written and receive feedback from him individually.”

Shana-Kay Hart, Pennsylvania State University, RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“What I liked most about the Internship & Mentoring Program was all the different mentors we got to collaborate with and learn from and hear their experiences in this field.”

Nour Elshazly, University of California, RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Madrid, Spain

“I really enjoyed getting to go out and actually gathering the information for my articles because I learned a lot by experiencing the culture myself.”

Katie Bandish, Temple University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“I liked the site visit to El Mundo and the photography workshop where we went out and explored Madrid as a group most. I really enjoyed seeing how a newsroom runs, watching a typical morning and touring the many departments.”

Kaitlyn Neal, St. Johns University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Madrid, Spain

“I loved the different workshops during this Internship & Mentoring Program, especially the ones about the visual identity of the brand, the street photography workshop and the video editing workshop.”

Pia Mazntalani, Lebanese American University (Lebanon), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“I loved the workshops with the expert mentors and the site visit to Internet República. It was so interesting to listen to how they got working in the job they are in today. It was really inspiring hearing their stories. This Internship & Mentoring Program has taught me lots about what career path I would like to take when I graduate university. I also really loved networking with all the other Internship & Mentoring Program members.”

Ellysse Horniblow, James Cook University Townsville (Australia), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Madrid, Spain

“After my Internship Seminar in Cuba with ROOSTERGNN, I have a better idea of stories to look for when traveling somewhere new, and I feel more confident pitching those ideas to other publications.”

Gabriela Milian, Columbia University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“I loved the workshops at ROOSTERGNN with the fixer of The New York Times. Most people don’t even know what fixers are, and I wouldn’t have been able to learn all of this anywhere else.”

Marita Vlachou, New York University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2016, Madrid, Spain

“The staff were amazing. I cannot thank them enough for their help. They were genuine, attentive and patient. There is so much going on with 16 students and they all handled us very well. I felt as though they went above and beyond for us and I will not forget that.”

Julissa Ramirez, Rutgers University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“It’s easy to talk about getting interviews and making connections, but hearing the Experts and Mentors elaborate on how they actually went about this was really helpful.”

Lela Jenkins, University of Chicago (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Madrid, Spain

“I loved the photography workshops we did; going out into the city and finding moments to capture was really exciting. I also enjoyed the classic car tours and the workshops about branding, they’ll definitely help me in the future.”

Gina Agnew, University of Manchester (U.K.), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“Working with professionals on a day-to-day basis as I created my articles and photographs was a priceless experience for me.”

Noah Dockery, Grand Valley State University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2018, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“My favorite mentor workshop was the one on foreign correspondents. I loved learning about how I could move anywhere in the world and report home to Canada about world news.”

Kellie Anderson, Western University (Canada), RGNN Academy Class of 2016, Madrid, Spain

“[My Cuba Internship & Mentoring Program] was a really great trip that I’m grateful to have been a part of, and I am sure it will come in useful when applying for jobs. I will leave with not only lots more confidence and knowledge on journalism and photography, but also people who I hope to be life-long friends.”

James Rae, University of Strathclyde (U.K.), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Havana and Trinidad, Cuba

“I really enjoyed the hands-on photography workshops with Denis Doyle. I like how he took us to different places around Madrid and worked with us while we were taking photographs.”

Rachel Jones, Utah State University (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2017, Madrid, Spain

“I enjoyed working with mentor Benjamin Jones the most. He talked a lot about the TV industry (which I want to work for). Moreover, his workshop on press conferences was really interesting, as I enjoyed doing a role play, simulating a real press conference.”

Ana Londoño, Emerson College (USA), RGNN Academy Class of 2016, Madrid, Spain