Dispatch Welcomes New Intern

The Molokai Dispatch News Release 

We are excited that Sage Yamashita, a senior at Molokai High School, will be interning with The Molokai Dispatch. During her internship, Sage will help provide news coverage of community events and MHS sports through photography and reporting. She will also gain hands-on experience with all aspects of weekly newspaper operation over the next semester. 

Sage’s parents are Melinda and Matt Yamashita, and after graduation, she plans to study marketing. 

“I’m starting my senior year and I’m using this year as a starting point to learn some new skills, get out into the world, and prepare myself for college,” she said. “I have always had an interest in interning with the Dispatch since I was young… I plan to go to college for marketing and the Dispatch is a place I know I can learn skills I will be using.”

The Molokai Dispatch used to host a thriving and competitive internship program for reporting and graphic design that attracted applicants from around the country. The Dispatch ended the program about six years ago to reduce operating costs and focus on homegrown, community talent. Since then, Yamashita is the Dispatch’s first intern, as well as the first-ever intern from Molokai High School. 

“The Molokai Dispatch’s biggest goals in our community include empowering youth and strengthening local voices,” said Editor Catherine Cluett Pactol. “We are proud to have mentored many interns who have gone on to successful careers in journalism in Hawaii and across the county. But having an intern from Molokai, who has a homegrown perspective on our island and a desire to be part of the Dispatch’s mission, is really special for us. We look forward to working with Sage as she gains hands-on work experience at the newspaper, assists in reporting on community events and other tasks essential to weekly operations, while completing her senior year at Molokai High School.”

Be on the lookout for Sage’s reporting in the paper and we also mahalo her for her work behind the scenes at the office in the coming months.