SPEL storytellers wrap up another successful semester
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Enhancing her writing ability is something that Evelyn Margarito-Casas says she’s enjoyed about participating in Hola Cultura’s Storytelling Program for Experiential Learning (SPEL).
“You do writing work at school, but I’ve never really put much thought into it,” says the incoming college freshman. “I realized that I like getting more feedback [at Hola Cultura] than at school.”
Editorial Intern, Afro-Latino Experience Team
An intern on SPEL’s Afro-Latino Experience story team since January 2023, Margarito-Casas graduated this spring from Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., and will attend American University in the fall. She will pursue a degree in Latin American Studies and International Relations with a focus on Mexican-American issues. She is one of nearly two dozen interns, including several high schoolers like herself, who completed SPEL’s summer semester last week on July 25. Working alongside her team and editorial fellow Ramona Santana, Margarito says she has improved her writing and acquired new knowledge in the program.
Over the course of the summer semester, SPEL participants conducted interviews and research, wrote stories and published their work. Hola Cultura also launched a new podcast, “Artistas in the Capital,” that features interviews conducted by SPEL participants. While some interns interviewed and wrote stories this summer about the GALA Hispanic Theatre, Sitar Arts Center and Humanities D.C., others worked on a flooding investigation we’ll share later in the summer or contributed to our copy editing and social media teams.
Social Media Intern
Among SPEL’s social media managers has been D.C. high school intern Beatriz Mendez-Perez — a member of SPEL’s Design and Social Media team — who says the summer semester was intense but gratifying with new experiences and stories to share. Mendez-Perez created original content for Hola Cultura and shared stories on Instagram. Their dream job is to be a 3D animator and says their learning process improved with the help of their fellow Laura Diaz.
“Laura is helping me learn how to use social media, how to use hashtags and how to use criticism,” they say. Explaining that besides learning practical hands-on skills, working in SPEL’s Design and Social Media team has helped them gain knowledge and hone their critical thinking abilities in ways they expect they’ll “use throughout my life.”
The meetings held every Tuesday on Zoom included guest speakers and training sessions on topics, such as story creation basics, journalistic ethics, truth decay and social media keyword selection and usage, as well as copy editing training for SPEL’s editing team.
Copy Editing Intern
As part of our Copy Editing team, Michelle Benitez is another intern who completed a second semester in SPEL this summer. Over the semester, she edited interviews and made sure the stories were accurate. One of the stories that stood out to her this summer was an interview about abortion rights in Virginia.
Benitez, a Florida State University (FSU) senior double majoring in Spanish and Editing, Writing, and Media, hopes to become an editor for a publishing company someday. For her, Hola Cultura has been the perfect opportunity to gain experience in editing bilingually. She says she was attracted to HC’s mission of advocating for Latinos.
“I just thought that’s perfect for me. So I went for it,” Benitez says. Guided by her fellow Jordan Luz, Benitez says she’s learned different editing tips with her team members — with whom she felt completely comfortable asking questions and communicating openly.
“I just like how much everyone’s able to communicate… I’m open to give suggestions when I feel like they’re necessary…,” she says. “It’s a very healthy environment for me to learn.”
Guest speakers this summer included GQ magazine copy editor Gaylord Fields, who discussed what it’s like to work as an editor and spent additional time providing insights and advice to SPEL’s copy editing team. Dr. Moira R. Rogers, the former facilitator of our SPEL program, returned to discuss her experiences of volunteering at the Mexican border.
For our second to last session, SPEL had a great group of guest speakers for Professional Development Night, which we hold at the end of each semester to give SPEL interns and fellows the opportunity to meet and ask career advice from communications professionals.
On July 18, this conversation featured guests Teresa Frontado, the executive editor of DCist/WAMU; Melinda Machado, the director of the Office of Communications and Marketing at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe, Hola Cultura’s new Assistant Editor, who started out as a SPEL intern in 2020 and has held a few different positions at HC since then.
Frontado advised the aspiring young professionals to take the time to build relationships.
“My other recommendation is: be curious,” she added. “Dedicate enough time and stay enough time in a job, so you get really good at it and learn the trade. Also, don’t be afraid to challenge yourself.”
*Fall 2023 SPEL intern applications are now being accepted. Apply here.
— Interviews & story by María Fernanda Gómez
— Edited by Yaretzi Chavez
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