COLLEGE PARK — The Local News Network at the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism has selected its 2026 class of interns who will spend the summer working at local news outlets.
Ten Merrill College students were chosen to participate in the internship program, which serves the LNN’s mission to strengthen local news coverage while providing students with invaluable experience in local news reporting. The interns will spend the summer working at local news outlets in Maryland, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C.
The cohort includes (internship outlets are in parentheses): Ryan Bowie ’26 (The Baltimore Sun), Danny Chung-A-Fung ’28 (Bethesda Magazine), Stephen Lotz ’26 (Washington Business Journal), Vada Mercer ’28 (Southern Maryland News), Mayah Nachman ’28 (Maryland Matters), Tyler Quattrin ’28 (Pioneer Press), Nolan Rogalski ’28 (The Providence Journal), Clare Roth ’28 (WMAR 2 News), Katherine Schutzman ’28 (The Frederick News-Post) and Amelia Twyman ’28 (States Newsroom).
The Local News Network internship program provides stipends for each student to intern at the listed local news outlet. The stipends cover living expenses and summer tuition credits.
Merrill College’s Local News Network, led by Director Jerry Zremski, was launched in 2022 thanks to an anchor commitment from the Andrew and Julie Klingenstein Family Fund. The college created the LNN to aid locally focused news outlets by creating important localized news content and by teaming those news outlets with student reporters.
Every semester, dozens of Merrill students take part in a project that aims to provide important content to support overtaxed Maryland news outlets.
Follow the Local News Network on X (formerly known as Twitter) @LNNMaryland. For more information on the Local News network, email Zremski at jzremski@umd.edu. Applications for the 2027 internship program will open in January.
Meet the Interns
Ryan Bowie ’26, of Baltimore, will intern with The Baltimore Sun. A journalism major with a minor in Spanish, he covers news and sports as a staff photographer for The Diamondback, and is a proud U.S. Army veteran.
Danny Chung-A-Fung ’28 will intern with Bethesda Magazine in Maryland. He is a journalism major who has written for WMUC Sports, Terrapin Sports Central, Maryland Baseball Network, Mitzpeh and other campus publications. He also is part of the production team with the Maryland B1G+ StudentU program, and assists with production for Terrapin Sports Central and Merrill College’s Capital News Service broadcast bureau.
Stephen Lotz ’26 will intern for Washington Business Journal. He is a journalism major who writes for the Greenbelt News Review and covers Washington, D.C., for Capital News Service.
Vada Mercer ’28 will intern with Southern Maryland News. She is a journalism major from St. Mary’s County, Maryland, with a passion for music and local news. Mercer is a staff writer for WMUC’s music team and a contributing writer for The County Times in Maryland.
Mayah Nachman ’28 will intern with Maryland Matters. A journalism and international relations major from Rockville, she is an assistant news editor at The Diamondback, where she previously worked as a staff writer covering Prince George’s County.
Tyler Quattrin ’28 will intern at the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Twin Cities native is a journalism major with minors in public leadership, and law and society. He is a staff writer for The Diamondback, where he covers the College Park City Council.
Nolan Rogalski ’28 will intern with The Providence Journal in Rhode Island. The Cumberland, Rhode Island, native is a journalism major with minors in Spanish, and law and society. He is the deputy editor at Testudo Times and a reporter for Capital News Service. Rogalski has previously written for La Voz Latina and WMUC.
Clare Roth ’28 will intern at WMAR 2 News in Baltimore. She is from Raleigh, North Carolina, and is a journalism major with a history minor. Roth is The Diamondback’s transit beat reporter and the multimedia editor for Stories Beneath the Shell. She also volunteers at the Capital News Service broadcast bureau and is a Merrill College student ambassador.
Katherine Schutzman ’28 will intern with The Frederick News-Post. A journalism major with a minor in general business, she works for The Diamondback, where she is a deputy news editor and covers the University of Maryland Student Government Association.
Amelia Twyman ’28, of Pittsburgh, will intern with States Newsroom in Washington, D.C. A journalism major with a minor in creative writing, she is a deputy news editor at The Diamondback, where she has also covered city and campus development, justice, equity and identity, and the University Senate.
For more information, contact:
Josh Land
joshland@umd.edu
301-405-1321