The best summer so far in my life was very much different from other people’s out-of-town trips to the beach. I never thought that I’d love waking up at 7am to commute for an hour to the office. I didn’t even expect I’d survive the daily rush for a ride home.

Rappler made all those things possible.

Three years into journalism school, I never really had a full grasp of what I wanted to do with my life. It was all about gearing up for law school.

However, when the months leading to the summer before senior year passed by, I realized that I ought to give journalism one last try.

It was internship application season and everyone was nervous about their applications. Luckily, my friend, Fritz Rodriguez, was a former intern at Rappler so she gave me a heads up on what I should expect.

A day after Holy Week, I woke up to a tweet by my friend and co-intern Dean Lozarie breaking the good news.

After that, I knew it was going to be one epic summer.

At Rappler, I never felt like I was “just” an intern. Instead of being asked to make coffee, I was encouraged to think of stories and pitch them, eventually. Instead of sessions with the photocopying machine, I was out in the field getting the views of those who matter and gathering data for my stories.

And I got my byline. That magical byline! Seeing your name after the headline is like finding the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 

First election coverage

The highlight of my internship was the election coverage. I witnessed how hard it was to pull off a coverage that won’t sacrifice credibility and critical thought just to be the best in the field.

It was also inspiring to be working with people whose names I only used to see on covers of books that I buy and in stories that I read.

I will forever be proud to say that I spent my first election coverage with Rappler. When I stepped out of the war room, I felt I was part of a great social endeavor.

Real word

The country needs to be informed and Rappler does a good job at it.

It is not just a sneak peek of the real world, it is the real world.

Because of this internship opportunity, I was able to experience what was waiting for me after graduation. Boy, am I excited!

Thank you, Rappler! – Rappler.com