Meet the interns joining the Lexington Herald-Leader this summer
The Herald-Leader is welcoming three interns for the summer.
Quézia Arruda Cunha, Christian Kantosky and Jake McMahon will join the newsroom staff. Arruda Cunha and McMahon will work on the news staff, and Kantosky will join as a photographer.
“The season of summer interns is always a favorite of mine and our Herald-Leader team,” said Richard Green, the Herald-Leader’s executive editor.
“I’m certain this summer’s class will tell meaningful stories from around Central Kentucky, through their words and visual images, and return to fall classes with a deeper understanding of strong community journalism. Feel free to share your story ideas with them directly.”
Arruda Cunha is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and moved to Lexington in 2022 to attend the University of Kentucky as a journalism student. She will be a senior at UK in the fall.
“My biggest dream is to travel around the world and tell the stories that matter about underrepresented communities,” she said. “My motto is to give voice to the voiceless through my reporting, and I am beyond happy to do this here as a news intern at the Herald-Leader.”
Arruda Cunha can be reached at qarruda@herald-leader.com.
Kantosky is from Bowling Green, and will be a junior at UK in the fall, with majors in journalism, economics and Spanish. He will be the photo editor of the Kentucky Kernel, UK’s student newspaper.
“I chose to major in accounting at UK, but fell in love with journalism and photojournalism while working with the Kernel,” he said. “This prompted a major change and now career change as I am excited to work in a professional newsroom in the city I now call home.”
Kantosky can be reached at ckantosky@herald-leader.com.
McMahon is from Louisville, and will be a senior at Western Kentucky University in the fall. A journalism major, McMahon will also be editor-in-chief of the College Heights Herald, WKU’s student newspaper.
“During this internship, I look forward to continuing my growth as a journalist and learning from some of the brightest minds in the field,” he said.
McMahon can be reached at jmcmahon@herald-leader.com.
This story was originally published June 17, 2025 at 4:00 AM.