Jodie Chiemi Ching
The Herald ‘ohana sends its best wishes and a heartfelt mahalo to Katherine Itoh. Shin-nisei Itoh has been the Herald’s intern for the past few months, polishing her reporting skills by compiling and writing up our paper’s Bulletin Board and Community Focus sections.
Itoh, a graduate of St. Andrew’s Priory in Honolulu, now studies journalism as a sophomore at Syracuse University, New York. We were introduced to her by Hawaii Hochi, Ltd., President Taro Yoshida, who informed us that Itoh was interested in spending her summer break gaining some hands-on journalistic experience as an intern at the Herald.
Unfortunately, we all worked remotely to keep everyone safe during the coronavirus pandemic. Nearly all community events were greatly curtailed, took place online or wound up altogether canceled. So unlike past years, we could not send our intern on any fun journalism excursions, or meet with her physically, beyond an initial tour of our offices.
But though our team was connected virtually, with each of us based at our respective writing locations, Itoh was able to adapt well to our situation. Additionally, she is a fast learner with a wonderful work ethic, brought a fresher selection to our Bulletin Board events and responded well to our feedback.
Previous to the Herald, Itoh interned at Honolulu Magazine where she assisted with compiling its website calendar of the Honolulu Family page, observing behind-the-scenes process at photoshoots, participating in brainstorming meetings and more.
At Syracuse, Itoh contributes to the school’s student-run television studio, Citrus TV, where she performs crew duties on the camera, VTR and teleprompter. Last year, she also participated in their freshman-training program where she practiced being in front of the camera anchoring news and sports programs.
Itoh has already jetted off to the East Coast and started her first week of classes at Syracuse. We wish her a safe and successful fall semester as she works toward her bachelor’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism and in international relations.
Mahalo Katherine for your excellent writing and for bringing your bright positive energy to the Herald. We wish you happiness, good health and abundance.
