by Markeshia Ricks

Q: Describe a lasting memory of your internship experience at your CQS paper.

A: My most lasting memory was how much I came to care about the community I was covering. In 2002 CQS sent me to Tuscaloosa, Ala., a city I had never heard much about because it is often eclipsed by Birmingham, and a state I thought I knew enough about to never want to live there long-term. But living and working in Tuscaloosa changed my perception in ways I hadn’t anticipated. The internship took me all over the back roads of west Alabama, and I developed a great appreciation for the charm of that part of the state and its complicated history.

The Tuscaloosa News also gave me an opportunity to write about everything under the sun. I still remember the first story I wrote, on the first day of my internship. It was about a spelling bee hosted by the local senior citizens center. It probably lasted 10 minutes but it sure was fun. I earned enough trust that summer to merit taking on the weekend cop-shop duties and traveling around west Alabama to write about making sorghum syrup and even about the community where Coretta Scott King was born and its attempt to get back on its feet. I stayed in Tuscaloosa for two more years after that summer. I’ve worked in Alabama for nine of my nearly 10 years in journalism.

How did becoming a CQS Scholar shape your life?

In college and j-school you learn the basics. You get advice about being the first in to work and the last to leave. You’re taught how to do your job with an eye toward moving on to something bigger and better. You are not taught how to care about the people and the place that you cover. I learned to do that because of CQS. I don’t have children, but because I sat through many a school board meeting, I came to care about how my tax dollars were being spent and what kinds of things were being taught. I learned more about writing with compassion and empathy because I had to interview people who lost everything to a fire. I learned the value of telling the story of people who never seem to make the paper for what might be deemed positive news because no reporter went to talk to them until I came along. I learned that anyone can move to a place, write stories and leave. But a real journalist, a good journalist, takes the time to get to know the community. You live it, breathe it and become part of its fabric. When you do that, you can write with authority about it.

Describe an experience you’ve had as a CQ alum.

It has been fun to bump into CQ Scholars pretty much everywhere I go. I don’t think I’ve worked at a publication yet that hasn’t had at least one Chipster.


Markeshia Ricks is a reporter for the Air Force Times covering personnel issues and the Pentagon.