My name is Danielle Hodes, I am from Livingston, New Jersey and I’m about to move into a dorm at the University of Maryland. I am about to take off and study Journalism in college. When it comes to my gap year experience, Aardvark Israel helped me immensely in solidifying my passion for Journalism and exposed me to different fields of Journalism, that I can pursue in college. Through interning at i24NEWS, I was able to help with TV production and created news packages that were aired on tv! I loved being more in touch with world events and involved in breaking news to the world. Also, I learned some important skills, like how to work for other people. At I24NEWS I wouldn’t come in expecting someone to find me an assignment to write about. I learned to come in with a curious mind and pitch ideas or find ways to make myself useful in a very busy work environment. This skill has transcended all of my Summer jobs and helped me thrive in a work environment.
My experience being on Aardvark Israel during a pandemic had its challenges. The lockdowns and separate buildings we lived In made it initially difficult to make friends and meet people. I learned to have an open mind about every person I met and to be nice to everyone because you never know who could be your best friend. I learned to never hold someone to your first impression of them and to give people a chance.
