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Kaden Warman, Emily Cook and Jack York are the original three – the first three high school students to intern with Alamosa Citizen through the Rural Journalism Institute of the San Luis Valley.

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Emily Cook is the youngest of the three – a junior in high school at Alamosa. She and Kaden Warman are theater-mates at Alamosa High. Kaden is a year ahead, entering his senior year, and both are involved and passionate about theater production and performance.

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Jack York is entering his senior year at Monte Vista High. He aims to be a writer, putting words to paper, lending his thoughts to the greater world.

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The Rural Journalism Institute’s mission is to train a new generation of digital-savvy journalists and content creators to perform the work in small communities like those in the six-county San Luis Valley. Each of three summer interns received a stipend for their work.

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“We recognize the need to train more young people to fill these critical roles in the emerging world of digital journalism and social media,” said MaryAnne Talbott, CEO of Zepol Media. “It is particularly important that small markets and rural communities aren’t left behind in the digital age and young people growing up in small towns have the opportunities to develop these skills and perform the work. The Valley has stories to tell.”

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The Rural Journalism Institute of the SLV is a 501(c)3 nonprofit based in Alamosa. The work of the summer interns will be published on AlamosaCitizen.com and will show up in multimedia such as the Alamosa Citizen’s 90-Second News Blast reel and @alamosacitizen social media feeds.

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The Rural Journalism Institute currently has a five-member board that includes Kathy Walker, news director for KOA Newsradio in Denver and IHeartRadio’s regional news director for the Rocky Mountain Region; Kathy Campbell, a retired journalism professor who taught at University of Wisconsin, Southern Oregon University, and the University of Oregon, where she managed internship programs; and Katie Roberts, corporate communications and brand development manager for The Kent Companies. The nonprofit plans to grow its board to include San Luis Valley members.