Jackson Free Press

We loved 'em. We needed 'em. We used them. Just who are these unsung wonder-people I'm talking about? Interns! Over the years, here at the JFP we had some pretty outstanding interns that have gone beyond the call for getting the job done. Many have wondered how they have done since leaving, so we thought we'd play catch-up on some of them.

Sophie McNeil:
Sophie is continuing her studies as a news-editorial journalism major at the University of Southern Mississippi in hopes of graduating with a bachelor's degree in May 2010. There, she has been involved with the school's newspaper, the Student Printz; the Office of Sustainability as an EcoEagle representative, and an art teacher to under-privileged children at the Salvation Army. Sophie continues to write, working as a stringer for Dow Jones News Group and as an editorial intern for Mississippi Magazine in the summer of 2009.

Thabi Moyo:
Thabi Moyo currently lives in what is known as the Black Manhattan, a.k.a Central Harlem, in New York. She can still be caught toasting the success of "Prom Night in Mississippi," the 2009 Sundance-selected documentary that she associate-produced. Thabi has begun to navigate her way around the indie New York production scene, freelancing as a film producer, production coordinator and director of photography. Going into her second year of big-city living, Thabi is absorbing the essence and culture that is Harlem and currently reading books from authors of the Harlem Renaissance. Thabi is working for the National Black Programming Consortium as assistant director of the New Media Institute, a training program that shares knowledge about new media platforms and develops content and alternative ways of distributing that content.

Jonathan O'Keefe:
Jonathan is entering his third year at University of Louisiana-Monroe for communication studies and philosophy. He will be writing for the school's paper, The Hawkeye, and plans to pursue a civil liberties internship next summer. Although he lives in Louisiana, he plans to travel to Jackson just about every weekend and pick up a JFP.

Casey Parks:
After rising to the position of assistant editor at the Jackson Free Press, Casey attended graduate school at University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo., before winning a reporting trip to Africa with New York Times columnist Nick Kristof in 2006. Casey is currently a reporter at the Oregonian, a daily newspaper in Portland, Ore.