Kendehl Ballard in Pohlad Internship program at the Leader-Record

The Leader-Record would like to introduce you to the summer intern, Kendehl Ballard. She started her internship with the newspaper on Thursday, June 22, and the job ends now in August. 

Kendehl is part of the 2017 Pohlad Internship Program. This marks the 13th year the Pohlad Family Foundation has generously funded summer internships for high school-aged students as part of its Summer Youth Employment Program. In Minnesota, 45 community newspaper internships were available this summer.

As the Leader-Record  and Richards Publishing Company intern, Kendehl has been working in the office and in the community. She was working part-time at 20 hours a week for 10 consecutive weeks. Her duties included her office time, conducting interviews for local news stories, writing various human interest stories, taking pictures, and finding fun, fresh and interesting things to put in the paper.  

Kendehl is currently a Senior at Clearbrook-Gonvick High School. Along with her internship at the Leader-Record she is also a CNA at the Good Samaritan Society in Clearbrook. She enjoys photography in her free time along with playing in the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra. 

The Summer Youth Employment Program is a truly unique and special experience for high school-aged students. Before ever stepping into a college classroom, interns get to experience what life is like when you work in an office. They hone communication skills and they get a taste for what a career in the communication or journalism field may look like. With contributing photos, stories and columns to the paper, interns build skills in photography, writing, editing and interviewing.