Jonathan Perelman becomes the first Lee student to attend the Phillips ' Journalism Institute in NYC
(Photo: Jonathan Perelman)
Jonathan Perelman, Lee senior, is in a New York state of mind after becoming the first Lee University student to spend a semester at the Phillips' Journalism Institute at The King's College in New York City.
The institute was formed in 2014 in order to train Christian students for careers in media. The institute teaches journalism, supervises internships and fosters a community of ethical reporting and writing among top journalists, according to the Phillips Institute website.
Perelman is spending the spring semester taking classes and interning in the city, living and working in Manhattan.
Before making his decision, Perelman went back and forth on the idea of spending his final semester as a Lee student in New York. In the end he realized the experience was something he couldn't pass up.
"I was finishing up soccer and Mark (his mentor) told me it was a good opportunity, so I decided to do the internship," Perelman said.
Perelman started his semester with a history of journalism class that lasted two weeks and then began his assigned internship.
Perelman spends 20 hours per week writing for The Broadsheet, a hyper-local paper that specifically writes local news about the goings on in Battery Park City, Tribeca, South Street Seaport and the Financial District.
While interning, the experience of writing on a regular basis alone has been very helpful, Perelman said.
"I've learned just from being around it; just being here and having to write all the time has made me a better [writer]," Perelman said.
Though the semester has been full of firsts, one of the hardest adjustments Perelman said has been the change in weather from mild southern winters to chilly, northeastern days.
"It's a littler colder," Perelman said."I have never lived somewhere where it has been in the single digits before."
Despite the colder weather, Perelman makes the 10 minute commute on foot to The King's College and the the 20 minute commute to The Broadsheet during the week.
After completing his semester in NYC, Perelman hopes to find a job reporting in the South after graduation in May.
