Hello everyone! My name is Griffin Peterson and I’m working as a summer intern at the Marshall Independent.

I’ve just completed my second year majoring in journalism and political science at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. I’ve lived in Marshall all my life, and I’m excited to come back and do work in reporting in my hometown.

In my free time I like going swimming, watching scary movies and camping. But winter is where I’m in my element, as it’s prime time to go snowboarding, skating or snowmobiling. Hopefully this winter will have the weather for it.

I actually didn’t come to school majoring in journalism, instead it was in political science. But in my spring semester of my first year I took an elective level intro journalism course and fell in love. I had so much fun writing stories and learning the history of journalism that by my next semester I decided to double major, adding journalism to my roster.

One of my favorite things about journalism is the variety. I knew I couldn’t be working a job where you have to do the same thing every day, and reporting gives me the opportunity to do something different every day. One day you’ll be talking with band members about their opening night and the next you’ll be watching a close baseball game that ends in a run off. Every day is different. That and getting to create stories, share my work with people and hear people talk about things I’ve worked on means I’m living the dream.

Beyond reporting, I love talking about politics, and went to school at the UMN majoring in that first. While most people do everything they can to stay away from the topic. I’ll usually be the one bringing it up, I’m sure to the annoyance of many. No matter which side of the political aisle people are on, I always enjoy hearing about what people believe and why they believe it. Spending even a few minutes talking with people about their beliefs and why they believe what they do gives such an interesting perspective on the world that I otherwise would never get to hear.

My dream is to be an opinion writer for the Minnesota Star Tribune one day. Talking about politics at a major news agency as a job… I couldn’t imagine something better. But no matter where I end up working, I want to be on an editorial board sharing my opinions and beliefs on issues.

I’ve worked at the Marshall Independent for one week so far, and I’ve been busy. Readers may have seen my work on the A’s baseball game, the Bike Extravaganza, the End-O-Line Railroad museums recent renovations or Kate Bucher’s recent completion of the World Marathon Majors. So far I’ve really just liked talking with community members and learning more about working in a newsroom.

My favorite part so far has been the opportunity to get out and interact with the community. Sometimes it’s easy to get stuck in the mindset of “nothing ever happens” in Marshall. But working in a newsroom you become instantly aware of all the events and fundraisers and games that are just waiting to be attended. I think that has been my favorite part so far.