Feb. 18, 2025 6 AM PT
The Los Angeles Times internship program launched decades ago to find and nurture the next generation of journalists. Today, we continue that tradition with our spring cohort, who will gain valuable experience with some of the most pressing issues in a region where big stories are the norm — covering the arts, wildfires, sports, Hollywood and much more.
We’re happy to welcome five journalists educated in Southern California who are eager to bring their diverse storytelling to the largest newspaper west of Washington, D.C. They are joining us for at least 10 weeks of intensive, hands-on training to help hone their craft and bring their story ideas to life. Please meet them below.
Alia Yee Noll is a junior at USC majoring in journalism and minoring in documentary and gender & sexuality studies. She’s worked at the Daily Trojan throughout her college years, serving as an arts and entertainment editor and associate managing editor. Last summer, she worked as an editorial intern for Ms. Magazine. When she’s not writing, you can find her exploring museums and restaurants around Southern California, collecting rubber stamps and doing crossword puzzles. She is thrilled to join The Times as its Image intern.
Amy Contreras is a Chicana from Los Angeles and a recent graduate of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where she studied comparative ethnic studies and Spanish. For her senior project, she created La Vitrina, the first Latinx campus newspaper at Cal Poly. She also contributed to the campus radio station as a podcast host for “Different Matters,” where she covered diversity, equity and inclusion issues. She worked as a communications intern at the Washington Office on Latin America, where she translated news releases, drafted the weekly newsletter and wrote copy for social media. She also researched and collaborated with the yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini (ytt) Northern Chumash tribe to design the Indigenous Walking Tour of Cal Poly, which explores the tribe’s living Indigenous traditions and knowledge that engulfs the campus and surrounding area. Amy enjoys spending time at home with her dog, Cami, and cat, Coco, watching Mexican telenovelas and sipping her homemade lattes. She is excited to join De Los to engage and explore the L.A. Latinx community.
Benjamin Royer is an Angeleno who will graduate in May with a master’s degree in specialized journalism from USC, where he received the Selden Ring Investigative Journalism Fellowship. From 2022 to 2024, he studied communication at UCLA, where he served as an assistant sports editor and staff writer for the Daily Bruin. Since July, he has written for The Times as a freelance reporter, covering high school sports, the Los Angeles Sparks, UCLA gymnastics and USC women’s basketball. His byline has also appeared in the New York Times and UCLA Blueprint, covering on-campus protests, medicine and sports media. Benjamin is passionate about sports investigative journalism and cannot wait to join The Times, his hometown newspaper and the Sports section he grew up reading.
Lupe LLerenas, a native of the San Fernando Valley, is a recent graduate of Cal State Northridge and USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. As a bilingual journalist and proud first-generation Mexican American, Lupe brings her cultural acumen to her reporting to find untold stories. Her work has been published on iHeartMedia, mitú, Associated Press Entertainment and Secret Los Angeles, among others. When she’s not prepping for an interview, chasing a story on social media or covering an event, she is listening to her favorite hip-hop and Latin music artists. She’s excited to join De Los as a content creator. Stay connected with Lupe on all social media platforms: @LupeLLerenas.
Anthony Solorzano, born and raised in Pomona, loves to tell stories in any format. Over the years, he has contributed to publications such as Cal Poly Pomona’s Poly Post, Mt. San Antonio Community College’s Sac Media, LA Taco, The Pomonan and various Southern California News Group outlets. In his spare time, he writes two newsletters: “Through the Grove,” which explores the culture and politics of his hometown; and “Pseudo Pop,” highlighting social commentary through the lens of films and television shows. Joining The Times as an intern is a dream come true for Anthony.
