Hello! My name is Lia Reichmann and I am a junior at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. I am from Lisle, Illinois a western suburb of Chicago, but grew up in Hinsdale, Illinois. I am majoring in multimedia journalism and history. In my free time I like to listen to music, hang out with my friends, and play with my 6 month old kitten Athena. I also love to hike and camp, the photo above is from Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada where I went on vacation in the spring.
My first taste of journalism came in high school when I took a journalism class. In that class students worked on the online news website called Devils’ Advocate. In my senior year I became the Editor-In-Chief. Devils’ Advocate gave me a great foundation for journalism and journalistic writing. I was able to get a lot of experience interviewing people and learning what makes up a news story.
Since then, I have joined Drake’s newspaper, The Times-Delphic, where I am the managing editor. At The Times-Delphic I have been able to write, collaborate, and lead a team of students to publish a weekly paper. Some of my favorite articles include one about Drake’s Wrongful Convictions Clinic, a USL team coming to Des Moines and my often weekly Green Bay Packers column.
For years I have had an interest in history and learning about historical events. To me, what makes journalism so interesting is that we are writing about history that is happening right now. In the future, people can look back at newspapers and learn about what was current events to us. I also love that through journalism people can learn about unfamiliar experiences and stories. I find the most satisfaction in writing stories about things I am unfamiliar with or thing that allow anyone’s voice to be heard.
Through my internship over the summer, I was able to do just that. My internship was with AsAmNews, a news website in which everything written about is related to the AAPI commuting. At AsAmNews I wrote about anything from a DACA recipient to a transracial adoptee making waves on TikTok to legal organizations and how they are combatting anti-Asian hate. Learning about more about my own community and spreading the important things happening in the Asian American community was incredibly fulfilling. I was asked to freelance write for them and I am excited to continue reporting about important news to the AAPI community.
