Pupoh joins Paper staff for summer internship

Jayden Pupoh, a rising junior at the UNC-Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media, has joined the staff of The Paper as a summer intern.

Pupoh’s parents live in McDowell County, and she attended McDowell High School as a freshman and sophomore. She completed her high school education at the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, graduating in 2024.

“This will definitely be a ‘hands-on’ summer for Jayden,” said Executive Editor Angela Kuper Copeland in announcing Pupoh’s appointment. “She will be writing a variety of stories and learning the routine of a working newsroom.”

A dean’s list student during each of her first four semesters at Chapel Hill, Pupoh is a staff member of the university’s student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, and is also active in student life at the university.

She now serves as vice president of the Black Student Movement at the school and previously served as chairman of the organization’s Political Action Committee.

Pupoh has also worked as a server at Refinery 13, a restaurant in downtown Marion, and as a lifeguard and swim instructor at the YMCA of the Triangle in Chapel Hill.

Asked why she is exploring journalism as a career, Pupoh responded, “I enjoy storytelling and I enjoy learning about people. I’m very people-focused and I also feel I’m very empathetic to others.”

As to her goals for this summer, Pupoh said, “I want to get as much experience in the news field as I can. I’m looking forward to learning by trying and learning by doing. I’m hoping this internship can help bring some focus to what I want to concentrate on in the future.”

This marks the fourth consecutive summer that The Paper has provided an internship to at least one journalist in training. The internship program is made possible by a generous local donor who believes not only in the future of The Paper but in the importance of community journalism to a healthy society.