Intern Christen Torres Honed her Craft, Survived Birds

Sunday’s Southern Cross was our last issue produced with intern Christen Torres in the newsroom. With her six- month internship coming to an end, the graduate of the University of Cape Town will now prepare to work in South Korea.

Ms Torres began working at The Southern Cross as part of the newspaper’s internship programme in July. In her first week, she landed a front-page byline.

Ms Torres recalled several memorable stories.

“I particularly enjoyed working on my stories about Victoria Giuricich, the Loreto Sisters, and researching and interviewing clergy regarding the then-newly released Pennsylvania Report in August. Now that was a stressful time,” she said.

“My time at The Southern Cross was very memorable and will always mark a special period in my life,” said Ms Torres, a parishioner of St Paul’s parish in Somerset West.

“Every day presented new challenges and new opportunities to learn, and grow in my craft as a journalist. I learnt a lot from my co-workers, who were always ready to help and guide me whenever I needed it,” she said.

“There was never a dull moment in the office and I will miss the wonderful discussions we had, the debates that spontaneously sprang up, and the laughter we shared.”

Ms Torres will also remember her time at The Southern Cross office for the area’s wildlife.

“At one point a starling family decided to nest in a ventilation hole in the stairwell to our office, so it became quite a challenge to even get into work or go to the toilet downstairs without getting attacked by the parent birds,” she said, adding that having persisted through it, “this was a lesson I have learnt to apply through any challenges I encountered with an article or a story”.

Ms Torres said she was grateful to the editorial staff for the mentorship, advice and encouragement she had received, and the administrative staff for their good company.

While this is her final edition in the newsroom, Ms Torres is still going to contribute features to the newspaper.

Southern Cross editor Günther Simmermacher said that Ms Torres had been “a real asset to our team, especially during a time when we were short-staffed”.

“The joy we have with our internship programme is to see young talent develop, sometimes rapidly so,” he said. “Christen had to hit the ground running and she never stopped. We will certainly remember her well.”

Applications for a position on The Southern Cross’ internship programme are currently open.