Emily Schmall interned for me at NPR during the summer of 2005.  My introduction to her was via e-mail in 2004.  

 

That year, she wrote me out of the blue which is not weird at all now but at the time, it was a little odd.  Emily had an opportunity to observe elections in Guatemala and wanted to know if I'd like an article or two for the next generation radio website.  She wrote while there, e-mailed the stories back and we posted them.  Emily took a chance I would bother to write back and then say yes.  I did both and she filed other stories too during 2004. A year and change later after that first random e-mail, she came to NPR to be my intern.

 

Between then and now, Emily has been:

1. A business intern and then staff reporter for Forbes Magazine in New York City

2. A copy editor for the Miami Herald

3. A Mexico City based staff reporter for Bloomberg Radio 

4. A freelance reporter in Mexico City for Reuters and AOL

 

After the earthquake in Haiti earlier this year, Emily took off to cover it.  She bought her ticket and then asked if any media needed an on-the-ground reporter.  In her mind, that was not backwards.  You go because someone is going to need something, so why not take the chance?

Since then we've had a couple of long talks about what's next on her agenda and I suggested that she may have gotten to a point where she needs to give back. Emily protested because she's only 27.  You're probably thinking the same thing. But there comes a point in your career where you should stop, look around and decide if it's time to cull your experiences and contribute.  

 

Emily is off to Haiti again as I type this. However, this time she's secured a financing and a distribution method for her writing with The Huffington Post. 

 

I have a feeling she decided she was going, wrote them out of the blue and- like me six years ago- they simply wrote back.