Bee welcomes summer intern

SANDPOINT — School’s out, summer is here, and with that comes the chance for a junior at Forrest M. Bird Charter schools to learn the ropes of the newspaper business. Aaron Horowitz of Sandpoint, is interning at the Daily Bee for the next month and working with the staff to hone his writing skills.

Horowitz, whose favorite subjects are English and gym, enjoys writing, researching subjects and playing video games.

As part of the internship, he will be writing business briefs, transcribing records and polishing his photography skills with Eric Plummer, the Bonner County Daily Bee’s sports editor.

The Bonner County Daily Bee is participating in a program through the Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and Blind, which prepares students with disabilities to enter the workforce.

In Aaron’s case, he is learning to speak and interact with co-workers, friends and families, despite a severe hearing impairment. Horowitz has been learning to speak by enunciating his words and speaking as clearly and articulately as possible. The development of speech is typically dependant on a person’s ability to hear his or her speech. In the case of a person who cannot hear at all or entirely, other techniques such as feeling his or her vocal cords during speech helps them determine volume and patterns.

Aaron has been taking speech classes for several years and practices his speech constantly. The opportunity to work at the Bee for the next month will provide him additional opportunities to practice his speech in a work setting.

“Everyone needs a chance and Aaron seems like a great kid who is exploring his employment and life options,” said Jim McKiernan, Bee publisher.

“Having him here will provide the staff a great experience learning from one of our young people and will provide him an experience interacting with the staff. He has mentioned several times that he wants to be a writer.”

Aaron hopes to become an independent author and possible photographer sometime after he graduates. He enjoys writing action and adventure, horror and thriller fictions about whatever he can imagine.

Through the vast resources of the Internet, Aaron has found multiple websites to comment on and write on, for fun, about the sort of work that he takes passion in.

Creative writing such as poems, fictions and short stories are just a few of the pieces that he is interested in creating, editing and building entirely from scratch.

Here is an example of Aaron’s creative writing:

“Don’t ever mind the torment of sin,

You are unique for the dagger you wield;

Drown your emptiness in gin,

You’re in a war with no yields.”