Sharon Martin worked for The Orion as a features writer in fall 2013 and sports editor in spring 2014.
She has since completed an eight week internship at the Fresno Bee. At the Chico Enterprise-Record, she has freelanced as a sports writer, worked as arts editor and news clerk, and has been a staff sports writer since Dec. 4.
Katrina Cameron worked for the Orion as a news writer in fall 2012, features editor in Spring 2013 and editor-in-chief in spring 2014.
She worked the health care and education beats at the Enterprise Record from June 2013 to January 2014, interned at the Sacramento Bee as a features writer and news reporter in summer of 2014 and currently works as a news reporter for the Contra Costa Times in the Bay Area.
Leila Rodriguez worked for The Orion as an arts and entertainment writer in spring 2011, arts editor in fall 2011, copy editor in fall 2012 and chief copy editor in spring 2012.
She has since worked for the Enterprise-Record as a news clerk, and arts and entertainment writer and editor. She currently works at Chico Paper Company.
What is your favorite memory from working at The Orion?
Martin: Sundays — layout Sundays. Even though we weren’t as productive as we should’ve been, my copy editor Kathy and I had some fun times where we would just reminisce about our really bad music tastes in high school.
Cameron: I will never forget when I got my first mug (a weekly award for the best work on the paper). I was so happy, I thought I was going to cry. I just remember thinking, “Oh my God, no way I got this mug.” it felt so special, and I felt officially a part of The Orion.
Rodriguez: When I came on the tour, we sat in on the first 15 minutes of The Orion critique, and I saw that they gave out mugs and I thought “I’m going to earn all three of those.” And I did.
How has The Orion helped you in your career?
Martin: The Orion helped me so much. I feel like what I learned on The Orion is more than I ever learned in a classroom, just on writing. The Orion stuff was better. I learned how to deal with deadlines and time management.
Cameron: There is somebody from The Orion everywhere you go in the country. Just being a part of that has helped me. There’s a lot of name recognition that comes with The Orion. You just build a huge network of support.
Rodriguez: You have to work well with others and learn to adapt to others’ learning styles. Meeting a deadline, working under pressure and working late hours are all qualities I learned from The Orion.
What was your favorite story you wrote while working for The Orion?
Martin: My photos and my tweets got on Good Morning America and CBS News for one of my news stories. They messaged me asking for my permission, and I was so excited and naive that I didn’t realize I could ask them to pay me until later.
Cameron: I worked on a story called “Four too many” with Quinn Western and it was really intense. It was a really trying semester. There were a lot of student deaths and most of them were correlated with alcohol. It was the story that helped me focus on the story itself instead of the emotion behind it. It was a huge launching pad for me.
Rodriguez: When I covered Elvis Costello, a year later I saw that he shared that review on his website and that was pretty awesome.
Final thoughts?
Martin: I miss The Orion. You make great, lifelong friends at The Orion. It will always hold a special place in my heart.
Cameron: I miss The Orion terribly. That’s why I visit so frequently. I just miss working with my best friends and putting out this product that we are so proud of together. There are so many memories behind it.
Rodriguez: I miss the people. I had fun.
Madison Holmes can be reached at [email protected] or @madisonholmes95 on Twitter.
