My name is Madeline Purdue and I am an ASME intern working at Eat This, Not That! I was born and raised in Las Vegas where I found my passion for journalism and really honed it through my high school's newspaper. I stayed in-state to attend the University of Nevada, Reno's journalism program, which has transformed my life. It has provided me with the skills and opportunities to not only be working here, but previously at USA Today in San Francisco. I also owe a lot of my success to working at my school's newspaper, The Nevada Sagebrush. My position there has pushed me to become the best journalist I can be while preparing me for the opportunities I received. But I owe everything to my professors for investing their time to help me be the best I can be and my family for supporting me through these opportunities.

 

My background is primarily in newspaper writing, so transitioning to magazine writing and social media was a learning curve for sure, but I think it's extremely important to learn how to write in different styles to make yourself more marketable as a job candidate. Not only did the style of my writing change, but so did the content. Before ASME, I had played it safe and stuck to hard news — which is something I still love and hope to pursue. But here, I was writing about nutrition and health, which was something I would've never expected to do in a million years. I was never the type to pay attention to these things, but now after I have done so much reading, writing, and research on the subject, I can't help but pay attention and care. This opportunity not only benefited my writing and reporting skills, it also gave me the skills to lead a happier, healthier life.