Growing up, whenever saw Anderson Cooper, the famous broadcast journalist on TV, she鈥檇 tell her parents that would be her someday.
Giselle, a Bellarmine student double majoring in Communication and Spanish, has taken a major step toward achieving that lifelong dream. This January, she started an internship with covering race and inequality in the U.S.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a dream come true,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 honestly get kind of speechless talking about it.鈥�
She鈥檚 hit the ground running and already published numerous pieces online. Seeing her first byline on CNN鈥檚 website 鈥渨as probably the happiest I鈥檝e ever been in my whole life.鈥�
Giselle said she heard about the opportunity through Dr. Emily Dixon, interim director of Bellarmine鈥檚 Dr. Patricia Carver Office of Identity and Inclusion (OII), who encouraged her to apply. Giselle is engaged with OII programs, serves as a Knights of Color Mentorand is president of the .
鈥淚鈥檝e found so much support through the OII community and students of color on this campus,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey motivate me to be my best, just like with this internship.鈥�
Giselle鈥檚 classes in her communication major helped her prepare for the internship, such as Digital Media Production and Fundamentals of Media Writing. She鈥檚 also worked with the Knights Media Network, the campus news service.
鈥淭hat was definitely one of the reasons I got the job; I was already doing the work,鈥� she said.
For now, the internship is virtual, but Giselle hopes she can land a fulltime gig at CNN鈥檚 Atlanta office someday. Staffers have told her they started out as interns and worked their way up.
鈥淚 want that to be my story,鈥� she said.
Giselle is also enrolled in Bellarmine鈥檚 early entry Master of Science in Digital Media program.