New Interns A to Z

This winter-spring, I have taken on two new editorial interns. If you attend any of our upcoming events, like the upcoming Seed Exchange at Green Spring Gardens, you are bound to run into one or both of them. As a first writing assignment, I asked them to write a short introduction to our readers...

Hello, Washington gardening community! My name is Allison O’Reilly, I’m originally from Winston-Salem, NC, and I’m a sophomore majoring in Journalism as well as Government and Politics at the University of Maryland, College Park. Apart from interning here at the Washington Gardener, I am a Staff Writer for The Diamondback’s Diversions section and run the social media accounts for The Writer’s Bloc, both of which are on-campus publications. I’m excited for my internship here at the Washington Gardener for many reasons, but especially because I love all things plants - I eat a mostly plant-based diet and I’m very passionate about the environment and all its beauty.  I’m looking forward to growing my own food items and connecting with the local gardening community, despite my lack of personal experience with horticulture. I can’t wait to meet some of you at various events and learn all sorts of things about growing plants!

Hello, my name is Kelly Zheng. I am a junior multiplatform journalism major, with a minor in technology entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland, College Park. I was born and raised in Maryland. My journalism experience consists of copy editing and freelance reporting for Stories Beneath the Shell, a student-run publication, and Her Campus, an online magazine. I enjoy anything beauty, food, and lifestyle related. I also spend a lot of time indoors and do not have any knowledge about gardening. Therefore, interning at Washington Gardener magazine will be an interesting experience for me. I am excited to learn how to grow and maintain plants from books, events, and hands-on activities. Additionally, I intend to work at a magazine or online publication, so I will explore the realms of this industry during my time here. I believe this opportunity will help me strengthen my ability to multi-task, teach me better ways to plan ahead and improve my skills after making mistakes. Stepping outside of my comfort zone will be a must this semester.