Augustana University student Zach Richardson ‘26, of Canton, South Dakota, was given an opportunity to intern with Sports Illustrated in Fall 2025.
Richardson wrote weekly player of the week articles and power ranking stories, as well as covered Augustana Hockey and Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) events. Richardson said he enjoyed every part of his internship experience.
“It felt like all I had to do was have fun covering, watching and writing about hockey,” he said.
Richardson learned of the opportunity through Dr. Jeffrey Miller, professor of English and journalism and director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies.
“I applied and was interviewed, during which they looked at articles I had written,” Richardson said, who has written news and sports articles, as well as opinion pieces for Augustana’s student-run newspaper, The Augustana Mirror.
The journalism and media studies double major, who wore No. 98 for AU Football for five years, said building meaningful connections in the journalism field is important to his future career.
“It (building connections) is everything. If the coaches and players don't get to know you, it will be hard to write deep stories,” Richardson said. “If the fans don't feel like they know you, and you don’t know what you’re writing about, no one will read your stories.”
After graduation, Richardson hopes to become a full-time sports reporter for Sports Illustrated covering collegiate football.
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