The Reynolds School of Journalism welcomes Claudia Cruz to the school’s faculty as the director of internships and experiential learning. Cruz will oversee the school’s internship program and teach the internship course each fall and spring.
“I am delighted to join the RSJ community to help propel its already successful internship program to new heights,” said Cruz. “Look out for new initiatives, like an externship program and a robust social media campaign that will innovate how students gain professional journalism, public relations and advertising skills. My goal is to introduce RSJ’s talented students to more people in our industries and not just in the Reno-Tahoe region but around the country and world.”
Cruz comes to the Reynolds School from the Silicon Valley where she worked as a Spanish-language technology reporter for CNET en Español, covering the industry and corporations like Apple, Alphabet and Facebook. She was also the original editor of the hyperlocal digital news site, Mountain View Patch.
While in California, Cruz also served a successful three-year term as president of the Bay Area chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists through which she helped place student members at internships in various media outlets.
In New York, she worked as the editor of El Correo de Queens, staff writer for the Queens Courier and local reporter for The Manhattan Times.
“We are thrilled to have Claudia join the Reynolds School,” said associate dean Donica Mensing. “Her experience in getting internships, mentoring students, expanding an internship program in the Bay area and organizing scholarships for interns prepares her beautifully for this position. I know students will learn so much from working with her, and she’ll be able to grow our program in exciting ways.”
Cruz received a Master of Arts from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Latin American Studies from Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
The Reynolds School requires all students to complete an internship or practicum. The internship program was managed for many years by professor emeritus Warren Lerude. Six years ago, Reynolds lecturer Alison Gaulden took over the program and built on Lerude’s work to expand the program and create workshops to mentor students in the use of social media and job-seeking skills. Gaulden will expand her teaching duties in the public relations and advertising emphasis at the school starting this fall.
