This summer, you might have noticed a new name on some of our stories: Elaine Sanders. Working as our news intern, Sanders has helped bring multiple stories to the community with her writing and photography, and though she heads back to school this week, we wanted to highlight her achievements as she goes!
What brought you to Santa Barbara for the summer? How did you learn about the Independent and what made you want to start interning here? I was born and raised in Ventura, so I have frequented Santa Barbara for day trips with friends; to the harbor for whale watching on the Condor Express; or to the beaches up the coastline on intertidal surveys, playing in the tidepools as my dad, a marine biologist, worked to catalog sea creatures. As my parents like to tell me, one of my first outings as an infant was to the Santa Barbara Zoo!
When I was last home for winter break, I had taken one of said day trips with one of my closest friends. We were sipping wine on a patio, my pale skin from a winter in New York soaking up the California sun, talking about life and goals. Next door was the old News-Press building. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to spend the summer working in Santa Barbara?”