Phi Beta Kappa and The Key Reporter are pleased to announce our staff of ΦBK Writing Interns for spring 2024.
The Society’s Writing Internship Program serves new ΦBK members who are looking for an opportunity to gain professional experience and support ΦBK’s mission to advance excellence in the liberal arts and sciences in higher education.
The program is open to members in their first year and recent graduates. Each intern receives a $1,000 stipend for their articles published on our website, keyreporter.org.
JULIE FLANDREAU (ΦBK, University of Pennsylvania)
Julie Flandreau graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature. She was inducted by the Delta of Pennsylvania chapter of Phi Beta Kappa upon graduation. Her passion for texts and theory is combined with a constant need for practical, on-the-ground engagement with the world, which is why she picked up the video-camera. In 2022, she was awarded a grant from the Sachs Program for Arts and Innovation to co-direct a documentary film portraying the life and works of a Philadelphia couple who organized phenomenal harm-reduction programs despite being separated by prison walls. Julie is pursuing a career in journalism, navigating across multiple languages (French, German, and English), continents, and types of media. She is currently working as a researcher and documentary filmmaker in Paris. In the future, her goal is to contribute to bold investigative projects that shed light on issues of local and global power relations, providing complex coverage and rich, fact-based information to the public.
ZAHRA VAFAEI NAEINI (ΦBK, Louisiana State University)
Zahra Vafaei Naeini graduated in May 2023 from Louisiana State University with college honors distinction and as a distinguished undergraduate researcher. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, and she was inducted by the Beta of Louisiana chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in March 2023. As an advocate for global health equity, she founded the Global Surgery Student Alliance club at LSU. This past December, she led a team of 16 students on a medical internship trip to Panama for two weeks and gained valuable insight into the medically underserved areas.
Embarking on the next chapter of her academic pursuits, Zahra is thrilled to join LSU Medical School in New Orleans as an MD/MPH student, starting in 2024. Beyond a commitment to healthcare, she has a passion for fostering global connections and understanding different cultures. Zahra is currently living with a host family in Shanghai, China for four months as a live-in tutor, helping their two sons learn English while immersing herself in the Chinese language and culture.
SIDHVI REDDY (ΦBK, University of Oklahoma)
Sidhvi Reddy is a second-year medical student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in May 2022 with a dual degree in microbiology and community health. Previously, she worked as an undergraduate research assistant in a biochemistry lab, a resident advisor, and as a coding intern at the Center for Risk and Crisis Management at the University of Oklahoma.The University of Oklahoma is home to the Alpha of Oklahoma chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
DEE RICHARDS (ΦBK, University of California, Irvine)
Dee Richards is a neurodiverse writer, parent, and honors graduate of University of California, Irvine holding a Bachelor of Arts in English. Dee was inducted by Phi Beta Kappa’s Mu of California Chapter at UCI, a distinction only offered to the top five percent of graduating seniors there. Dee has won three awards in creative non-fiction, has received eight anthology publications to date, and is a freelance writing educator through Outschool. Dee plans to continue to develop as a writer in a master’s program later this year, with a goal of full manuscript publication of their memoir, “To Hold and Horrify,” within the next five years.
WILLIAM ZIMMERMAN (ΦBK, Wake Forest University)
Will Zimmerman graduated from Wake Forest University in May 2023 with an Interdisciplinary Degree in Journalism, Film, and Creative Writing. He was inducted into the Delta of North Carolina chapter there several weeks before his graduation. He has published two magazine-length stories in The Assembly, a magazine committed to deep reporting on place, people, and power in North Carolina. He has also produced several narrative films and documentaries, including A Story About Food (and everything but), which screened at the RiverRun International Film Festival in 2022, and El Sazon, which won the Alumni Choice Award at the Trinity Film Festival in 2023. Will is currently seeking employment opportunities in journalism or film in the greater-NYC area.
About Our Program
Phi Beta Kappa’s writing interns help publicize the work of the Society and write stories about our alumni members. Applicants must be new members of Phi Beta Kappa within their first or second year to be considered for this position. Interns make a five-month commitment to the program and prepare a minimum of five short articles about Phi Beta Kappa alumni, news, or events for The Key Reporter website. Interns write and conduct research remotely. A staff presence in the national office in Washington, DC, is not required.
The deadline to apply for a fall 2024 writing internship is June 14, 2024. Interested in writing for Phi Beta Kappa? Read about our program and apply online!