The Charlotte Observer announces its 2026 summer intern class
We are proud to announce The Charlotte Observer’s summer 2026 interns.
Selected from a pool of more than 280 candidates, these eight journalists will work across our newsroom with the metro, business, sports, visuals and lifestyles teams. They’ll work alongside our staff covering everything from breaking news to local government, industry, enterprise and accountability journalism.
Our interns bring experience from college and other news outlets, and stood out as leaders at their school publications.
They will cover news in Charlotte and the surrounding region, including over the South Carolina border in York and Lancaster counties. The stories and visuals they produce will appear on the Observer’s and The (Rock Hill) Herald’s websites, in our newsletters, The Edition and in print.
All interns will start between now and June 8. Meet this year’s class:
Zaire Breedlove is a senior at Kennesaw State University studying Journalism and emerging media. Breedlove served as managing editor and audience engagement specialist for The Sentinel, Kennesaw State’s student newspaper. Additionally, he worked with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution/UATL and Freshtake Georgia. He is excited for the opportunity to serve the people of North Carolina and beyond. He’ll join the metro news desk this summer.
Ali Costellow is a rising senior studying visual journalism/photography and journalism at Western Kentucky University. She previously worked with the Arles Project as a foreign correspondent and social media manager, the Lexington (Kentucky) Herald-Leader as a news intern on the service desk and the College Heights Herald as its managing editor. She will join the Observer’s visuals desk as an intern. After her summer in Charlotte, she will return to WKU as the Talisman Magazine’s photo editor.
Maveah Griffith is a rising senior at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Pursing a major in multimedia journalism, she graduated high school last year with an associates degree. Griffith previously interned at WGHP in High Point in the fall and interned with the Triad Business Journal in the spring, gaining experience in broadcast as well as print journalism. Griffith aspires to be a White House correspondent. She will join the metro news desk this summer.
Claire Harutunian is a business reporting intern and the recipient of the UNC Chapel Hill’s M.S. Van Hecke award. She is a rising senior, double majoring in media and journalism, and psychology, while earning a certificate in business communication. Harutunian is a senior writer at The Daily Tar Heel independent student newspaper and a reporting intern at the Carolina Alumni Review magazine. She has interned at a variety of media organizations in her hometown of San Diego and while studying abroad in London. Harutunian is looking forward to spending her summer in Charlotte.
Laura Horne is a rising senior at Northwestern University with majors in journalism and psychology, a minor in legal studies, and a certificate in integrated marketing communications. Last summer, she covered local news for The Record North Shore in Wilmette, Illinois. She currently serves as features editor, and previously assistant campus editor, for her university’s newspaper The Daily Northwestern. She also enjoys magazine writing and editing, working as an assistant managing editor, and previously as a senior features editor, for the student-run North by Northwestern magazine as well as an editorial intern for Northwestern Magazine. She is excited to be returning to Charlotte this summer to report on her hometown. She will join the metro news desk.
Amari Riley is a rising senior multimedia journalism student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University with a passion for sports and entertainment media. She’s skilled in writing, editing, photography, social media management and graphic design. She hopes to make a difference through her reporting on sports and entertainment. She’ll be an intern for CharlotteFive and the sports desk this summer.
Noah Vinsky is a Pennsylvania-born Florida transplant and a recent graduate from the University of South Florida. He spent three years reporting for USF’s student newspaper, The Oracle, where he served as sports editor and managing editor. His reporting of USF’s football team after it was displaced during Hurricane Milton landed him a nomination from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sunshine State Awards. He also spent time reporting with WSLR and WMNF, two community radio stations serving Southwest Florida. He’ll join the Rock Hill Herald as an intern this summer.
Diamy Wang is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she studied political science, gender studies and Asian American studies. She previously served as executive editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian, Penn’s independent student media organization, where she also edited and reported for the politics desk. Originally from Alhambra, California, she has also interned at the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press through the Dow Jones News Fund. Wang will join the metro news desk this summer.
Keep an eye out for these interns’ bylines this summer. Have story ideas for them? Send to news@charlotteobserver.com.
This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 5:15 AM.
