www.roanoke.com

Katelyn Polantz was hired as a full-time reporter after an impressive nine-month internship. She works out of our New River Valley newsroom, primarily covering Montgomery County government and schools. In recent months, she’s used her investigative reporting skills to detail a history of structural concerns at the former Blacksburg High School.

Hometown: Johnstown, Pennsylvania    

College, major:   University of Pittsburgh, English literature/communication  

Why journalism:  It never feels like work. I’ve heard that journalism is a vocation, not a job, and that’s been my experience so far. Plus, the demands of reporting fit my personality: you get to meet interesting strangers, learn when you’re curious and generally be nosy. Reporting often feels like you’re preparing for a marathon game of Trivial Pursuit, and for people who like Trivial Pursuit, this is awesome.  

Years in journalism:   Almost three

Years at The Roanoke Times | roanoke.com:  15 months 

Other newsrooms where you have worked:  Bloomberg News (New York City), KDKA-TV (Pittsburgh) and my college newspaper, The Pitt News (Pittsburgh)  

Proudest journalism accomplishments:  Getting a job after college. It’s a tough industry to break into even without a national economic recession.  

Journalists you admire and why:   Gail Collins at the New York Times, because she brings wit to intense political situations; Mike Allen of Politico, because he’s a tireless reporter who knows all of Washington’s power players; Philip Gourevitch of the New Yorker, because he explores the gray areas between good and evil.  

Web sites you visit regularly:   The New York Times, Gawker, Slate, Apartment Therapy, Orangette, the Tom and Lorenzo blog, Facebook  

Favorite books: A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, Personal History by Katharine Graham and all the Harry Potter books  

Interests outside of work:   Cooking, swimming, exploring big cities  

Interesting fact about you that few know: I’m afraid of live fish (but I love fish as food).