Glimpsing an ALEX Student Reporter
Written by Olivia Throssell
“The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
At the University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo), the Office of Applied Learning Experiences, or ALEX, empowers university students to engage in real world scenarios which require them to utilize previously acquired skills, or acquire new skills on the spot.
Through their exposure to the office’s approved hands-on activities, such as internships, students tie their academic careers to careers like event planning and processes like job interviews beyond the university.
Eli Matola, a Communication and Philosophy double major, happens to be one of many students working for the office this semester. An intern, his internship provides him with the position of student reporter, a position that supplies the ALEX applied learning news site, ALEX Online, with articles.
Matola at home, composing articles for ALEX Online. Photo courtesy of Eli Matola.
Matola chose to serve as an ALEX student reporter as he wanted hands-on experience with case journalism. “[Case journalism] has always been a passion of mine and ALEX has given me the chance to … live it firsthand,” he asserts.
Although the senior only knew about the office from Stalltalk, the announcements inside restroom stalls across campus, he still signed up for his current internship. Among other journalism-related tasks, Matola must interview and fashion articles on either an applied learning program or individuals with applied learning experience. He creates two articles per week, the number set and expected by his advisor, Dr. Thomas DeWitt.
“These interviews … [take] me to so many different places,” Matola explains. “Last week I was on a boat interviewing member of the … [Sailing Club] and this week I will … visit[] a student who does screen printing.”
The Communication major attributes his student reporter position to Dr. Patsy Iwasaki’s Communication 285: Introduction to News Writing and Report course. The class helped Matola prepare for the numerous writing styles which attend journalistic outlets, such as newspapers and web pages, setting him up perfectly for his internship.
Matola believes his internship is readying him for his future career goals and refining his writing skills as well as enabling him to build a portfolio of articles to show employers. In regard to his future, he intends to apply for a position with the Japanese Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.
“I am currently filling out the JET application[],” the senior states, “and I believe that this internship with ALEX has helped me gain skills needed to teach English in Japan.”
For more information on the opportunities the ALEX office offers, please visit its UH Hilo website, or drop by Edith Kanakaole Hall (K-Hall) 250.
