The562’s student internship program flourished during the 2024-25 school year, made possible by support from the Long Beach Unified School District and more than half a dozen other sponsors.
This marked the fourth year of our internship program since its launch in 2021-22, and the second year under a five-year contract with LBUSD that has strengthened and expanded the paid high school internship. The LBUSD Board of Education unanimously approved the contract in 2024 to support the program through 2028.
This year, our internship program took on its largest class ever, bringing in 12 interns—all sponsored by the LBUSD and the generous donors who made it possible. Interns are paid for their work, and the562 invests in additional training, equipment, and mentoring for each member of the program. Applications have grown by 50-fold in the four years of the program.
Miguel Lozada and Elgato sponsored three interns for the 2024-25 school year, while Libby and Steve Hoy and the Bershtel family each sponsored two. Ryan Thies, Joe Carlson and Debbie Hughes, Pacific Concepts, Dan and Desiree Gooch, and the Bay Area Breakers each sponsored one intern as well.
Over the last four years, our internship program has helped 29 student journalists gain admission to journalism programs at elite universities such as Northwestern, USC, Maryland, Cal, Arizona, Pepperdine, and Long Beach State.
The program gives high school students the opportunity to explore different areas of our company, including photography, videography, writing, and social media. These overlapping avenues of journalism allow interns to try new things and grow their existing skills while covering the unique world of Long Beach sports.
We’ve brought multiple former interns onto our staff, including Nina Fife and Eli Aquino—both part of the inaugural intern class. We also hired Rasheed Riveroll Castillo, an intern in 2023-24, as one of our talented photographers. Additionally, we have worked with more than a dozen of our former interns as freelancers throughout the year.
As our internship program continues to grow, we’re always in need of support. If you’re interested in sponsoring one of next school year’s interns to help offset the cost of equipment and training, please reach out to Tyler Hendrickson at tyler@the562.org.
