Meet the New Interns

This summer, I have taken on two editorial interns. Look for their author bylines in our upcoming Washington Gardener Magazine issues and on this blog as well as our GardenDC Podcast and YouTube channel. As a first assignment, I asked them to write a short introduction to our readers.

My name is Esha Bhatti (pictured at left) and I am a senior at the University of Maryland in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. I’m a multi-platform journalism major with a concentration in public policy. I decided to pursue journalism after I witnessed how minority Americans such as myself are often misrepresented by mainstream media. I hope to bolster the voices of these individuals so that they can be the writers of their own stories. I served as head of the Howard Community College Times from 2021-2022, contributed diversion stories to The Diamondback in 2023, and most recently wrote about campus life at Her Campus magazine. I garden a little bit at my home in Highland, MDm with my mom, and have always loved being outdoors. I’m thrilled to be a part of the Washington Gardener team this summer with hopes of nurturing a shared love of gardening among people of diverse backgrounds and beliefs.

Hello! My name is Josh Panepento (pictured at right) and I am a rising senior journalism major at the University of Maryland. On campus, I am the editor-in-chief and reporter for Terrapin Sports Central and a reporter for Maryland Baseball Network. My earliest gardening experience is helping my mom and grandmother with their gardens. In elementary school, my mom bought each of my two sisters and me a sunflower and taught us how to take care of it. I still enjoy helping her with her backyard garden and trying to learn what I can. I am excited to attend events, tell local stories, and learn more about gardening this summer.