This summer, Investigate Midwest has welcomed two interns who bring fresh eyes and sharp skills to our work covering food, agriculture, and rural America.
Our interns are supported with generous funding from David Jackson via the Gary Marx Journalism Fund.
Melissa Dai is Investigate Midwest’s 2025 summer reporting intern. She’s a rising senior at Northwestern University, where she’s pursuing a career in investigative journalism.
Previously, Dai worked as an investigative intern at NBC Chicago, where she exposed scams and fought for consumer resolutions. She’s published two long-form investigations with MindSite News — republished by The Appeal and Capital B News — about flawed police responses to mental health crises. She also produces feature stories for her university’s paper, The Daily Northwestern.
Dai brings a passion for human-centered, data-driven storytelling to her work at Investigate Midwest.
Juleanna DeShetler is an audience engagement intern at Investigate Midwest. From crafting social posts to digging into digital trends, she works to ensure stories about agriculture and rural America reach the people who need them most.
Juleanna is a firm believer that good journalism deserves more than good reporting — it deserves smart strategy, sharp visuals, and a plan to be seen. Juleanna is a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Digital Media Production.
With both interns on board, our newsroom continues to invest in the next generation of watchdog journalists and audience strategists while staying grounded in the values that guide our work: independence, accountability, and impact.
“It’s exciting to bring in two interns who are already thinking critically about impact, access, and accountability," said Lauren Cross, assistant editor/audience engagement manager for Investigate Midwest. "Melissa and Juleanna are helping us strengthen our mission while gaining meaningful experience in nonprofit investigative journalism."
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