Sara Coughlin, a rising senior at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, has joined the Harpswell Anchor as a seasonal news intern.
Coughlin, of Brunswick, serves as an associate editor and social media editor at The Bowdoin Orient, an independent, student-run newspaper. She interned at the Portland Press Herald last summer.
Coughlin is majoring in English with a minor in government and legal studies. She is the second Bowdoin College student to intern at the Anchor in the four years of the program.
In addition to her educational and journalistic pursuits, Coughlin is a certified wilderness first responder who leads trips for the Bowdoin Outing Club. She is familiar with Harpswell, having grown up in Brunswick and worked at H2Outfitters and Salt Cod Cafe on Orr’s Island.
The Anchor received a record 93 applicants this year. The internship seeks to provide mentorship and professional experience to a postsecondary journalism student, as well as to boost the news staff during Harpswell’s busiest time of year.
The Anchor pays interns and provides housing to make the opportunity accessible to all, regardless of economic circumstances. For the second year, Ash Point residents Kathleen O’Donnell and Bill Bergquist are donating a seaside apartment for the program.
Interns receive one-on-one guidance from the Anchor’s staff and the many professional journalists who contribute to the Anchor as board members and freelancers. In return, interns make essential contributions as members of the news staff.
“Every year, we refine our internship program to build on the success of the previous year,” said J.W. Oliver, editor of the Harpswell Anchor. “Our goal is ambitious but simple: to make the Anchor a destination for elite student journalists, both to serve our readers and to serve our profession by contributing to the education of journalists.”
