Marissa Campbell

DEARBORN — Marissa Campbell, 21, a University of Michigan-Dearborn student majoring in both journalism and Hispanic studies, while minoring in psychology, joined The Arab American News this fall as an intern. 

Campbell said she chose to major in journalism because she has always been captivated by languages and has enjoyed writing since she was a child.

“My love for writing dates back to when I was a little girl, sitting in my room, writing in my diaries about my hopes and dreams for the future,” she said. “I tend to be extremely shy in person, so writing is one way that I can more accurately express what I am thinking.”

While in high school, she took an advanced reporting class and wrote for the school newspaper, but she is eager to experience how a major newspaper works and hopes to strengthen her interviewing skills. 

“I am also excited to learn how a newsroom works, what it’s like to be up at 3 a.m. the night before a paper comes out and how to further develop interviewing skills,” she said. “I want to learn what it truly means to be a reporter who is constantly up-to-date and informing the public of what is happening in the community, nation and world.”

Because Campbell resides in Plymouth, she doesn’t know a lot about the Dearborn community and Arab American culture, but hopes to learn more during her internship.

 “During my time at The Arab American News, I would love to become even more informed about the community and Arab American culture,” she said. “As a student at U of M-Dearborn, I am constantly learning more and more about the culture that so many residents in Dearborn share, but I hope to become even more familiar with the community at large.”

She said everyone she’s met in Dearborn and at The Arab American News has been nice and supportive.

“Everyone I have met so far is incredibly kind and helpful,” she said. “I cannot wait to develop stronger relationships with everyone at The Arab American News, become invested in the lives of people in Dearborn and continue working alongside Samer [Hijazi], my mentor, and others at the paper to get a behind-the-scenes view of how everything at the paper functions. I am excited to shadow people at the paper to City Council meetings and other local events to see how reporters handle different situations.”

While interning, Campbell said she does not mind writing about anything, but is mostly interested in writing about community events. She believes this would give her the opportunity to spend time with the community and learn more about Dearborn.

Campbell will be graduating in April and wants to find a job immediately that involves writing. 

“I will be getting married in July, so, ideally, I would like to start working immediately,” she said. “I would love to work for a newspaper, magazine or any kind of company or institution that needs writers.”