Youth Journalism Program

The Sopris Sun offers an engaging extracurricular mentorship program tailored for high school students aspiring to venture into journalism, photography, videography, blogging or cartooning. Held in Carbondale. The program takes place every Wednesday from 3 pm to 5 pm.

This program is offered free thanks to generous donations. As they learn, students are paid for their contributions that are published in The Sopris Sun and/or Sol del Valle. Just like professional freelance journalists, our interns invoice for each of their published contributions.

Along the way, interns receive instruction from a myriad of professionals in the industry, from reporters to cartoonists and even ad reps. Interns work with staff mentors during class time to research, conduct interviews, complete assignments and collaborate with one another on projects.

Interns develop reporting skills and knowledge in a professional setting. Each student gets a Sopris Sun email address, is eligible for an official Colorado Press Association press pass and collaborate with their peers and mentors on a weekly basis.

For high school students interested in the internship program, we encourage them to put some effort into their application and thoughtfully convey their interests in journalism – whether that be photography, cartooning, written reporting, etcetera.

Enrolled interns are able to stick with the program through high school and do not need to reapply each semester. We typically onboard new students at the beginning of the academic year.

Please email james@soprissun.com with any questions.

Read work by our youth journalists here.