Sense of community draws Hajek to internship in Holyoke

A big sense of community has led college senior Ashley Hajek to a five-week internship at The Holyoke Enterprise that started with this week’s edition of the paper.

Hajek will finish her journalism degree at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley next spring with an emphasis in news and multi-media.

She was introduced to Holyoke’s solid sense of community when she started attending the annual Melissa Memorial Hospital Foundation Legacy Events with her dad, Dr. Mike Hajek, orthopedic surgeon who sees patients in Holyoke regularly.

Potentially interested in a journalism career, she took advantage of a one-day job shadowing opportunity at the Enterprise while she was still in high school.

She credits that experience, along with the continued community exposure at the MMHF Legacy Events for inspiring her to want to pursue community reporting.

She said she feels it’s important for reporters to know about the community they’re reporting on, and she aspires to giving a voice to the voiceless.

After job shadowing in Holyoke, she gained experience on her high school yearbook and now feels it’s time to go full circle to do an internship in the community that was so nice to her when she was first introduced to it through the MMHF events.

Holyoke Enterprise Publisher Brenda Brandt acknowledged that it’s always a good feeling to give someone who is interested in the journalism field the opportunity for a hands-on experience.

She appreciates Hajek’s enthusiasm and, along with the rest of the paper staff, welcomes her to the team.

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