Get to know the Spring interns
BY ALEXXIA LITTLETON, LANDI RUTLEDGE, KADIE TAYLOR
OPELIKA — Entering a newsroom can be intimidating and exciting all at once. New faces, strict deadlines and new experiences are expected for these local students. This spring, The Observer is engaging with three new interns from Auburn University. These interns have the potential to be a new friendly face seen in the newspaper for the community and its local readers.
From the classroom to the newsroom, these interns will begin their journey as writers in a professional setting adding fresh perspectives to local coverage. As they begin their new phase of life, it’s important everyone has a chance to get to know potential faces in the local paper.
Landi Rutledge
One of the interns joining The Observer this spring is Landi Rutledge, a senior from Chelsea, Alabama. She said she is excited to graduate with her degree in journalism this year, in hopes of writing for a publishing company after she graduates.
Her favorite memory is moving into her first dorm in college. Even though it was very emotional, she was excited to start her new journey in college. She said she chose Auburn, not only for its amazing spirit and beautiful campus, but for the familiar and welcoming atmosphere.
Rutledge said her decision to attend Auburn was influenced by both family ties and the university’s journalism program.
“I chose Auburn because my grandparents live down here, and I would always come down in the summer,” Rutledge said. “I looked into the journalism program, and I really liked it, so when I took the tour it really solidified my choice.”
She said she decided to be a journalist because of her strong passion for writing. Her excitement for this internship opportunity goes far beyond just writing for a company or securing the required credit. She is excited to gain more experience and dive into things she has not had the opportunity to try yet.
Practice and adding new strengths are at the top of her list when it comes to the things she said she wants to learn from this local company. Rutledge hopes to build on her experience, learn how to interview and cover more events she may not be used to covering — so that she is more well rounded as a journalist.
Outside of work and school, Rutledge said she has many interests and hobbies to keep her busy in her free time. Some of these everyday hobbies include reading, hanging out with friends, relaxing, watching tv shows and movies. “Dead Poet Society” is her favorite movie to take comfort in.
Watching sports is also a common interest that Rutledge said she likes to take part in whenever she has free time. When she is not taking part in any of her other hobbies, she said she likes to watch a little bit of basketball, football and volleyball. Growing up, Rutledge’s favorite teams included the Golden State Warriors in basketball and the Carolina Panthers in football.
Rutledge said she is used to being very independent and has a close bond with her dad, as she doesn’t have any siblings or pets to look after. Rutledge said she continues to be inspired by her dad in so many different ways.
“I look up to my dad because he’s always been my role model and he’s my best friend,” Rutledge said. “I just admire his personality because everyone always loves him.”
Alexxia Littleton
Alexxia Littleton is a senior majoring in journalism. Her hometown is Wesley Chapel, Georgia, although she was born in San Diego, California.
She said she considers her best quality to be her work ethic and determination.
“I feel like once I commit to something I try to do the best I possibly can,” Littleton said.
As an intern, she said she hopes to improve the writing skills she has learned from her classes and learn how to find stories to write; her favorite topics to write about are sports and community events.
Littleton said her first English class in high school sparked her interest in journalism.
“I really like the idea of looking for different words to use,” she said. “I would look in the dictionary for synonyms every single time I wrote because I loved looking for different paths to talk to people, and I feel like it was a really cool way to get people’s attention and reach out to them.”
This semester, Littleton is most looking forward to graduating and her internship; specifically, getting more hands-on experience and learning more about her field. After she graduates, Littleton said she hopes to move back home to search for a job.
Littleton said she grew up watching college softball and enjoys watching Auburn softball, and after touring other schools, she said she loved Auburn the most and knew she wanted to attend. She said she finds women’s sports under appreciated, sharing that they can be just as intense as men’s sports.
While she said her favorite sport is softball, because she played it herself, she said she enjoys watching basketball and baseball, too. Littleton’s favorite college softball team is Auburn, her favorite NBA team is the Golden State Warriors and her favorite MLB team are the San Diego Padres.
Littleton said something people would be surprised to know about her is that she played softball for two years at Southern Union State Community College before transferring to Auburn her junior year. Littleton’s walkout song when she played for SUSCC softball was “Wop” by J. Dash.
She said if she had to choose a song to embody her life, “Live Like You Were Dying” by Tim McGraw would be the winner because she is adamant about the motto “you only live once.”
She said her mom inspires her the most because she always has a good attitude about everything and has worked her way up “from the bottom.”
She said her favorite hobbies include watching movies, shopping, reading, exploring and staying active. Littleton’s favorite ways to unwind after a long day is to take a bath and read a book or hang out with her friends. She said Session Cocktails is her go-to hangout spot because of their trivia and bingo nights. Hamilton’s is her preferred Auburn restaurant because she said its salmon is her favorite dish.
Littleton said “Footloose” is her favorite movie, and her current favorite shows are “Tell Me Lies” and over Christmas Break, “Reminders of Him” by Collen Hoover became her favorite book.
She said if she could travel anywhere in the world, she would go to Southern Europe to visit Italy because she would want to be immersed in the culture and learn the history.
Littleton said her only regret is not being as outgoing in high school as she is in college. If she got one chance to do one thing over, she said she would go back to her high school state championship to win.
Samuel Jones
Connecting his lifelong love for sports to a career, Opelika Observer Spring 2026 intern Samuel Jones said he found his passion for sports writing through campus activities and always knew he would pursue his education at Auburn University.
“I’m from Mobile, Alabama, and I always wanted to come to Auburn,” he said. “I grew up in an Auburn household — always going to like football games and stuff. I always had a passion for doing something in sports, so I felt like coming here would be a good place to do that.”
Jones said when he began his time at Auburn, he planned on pursuing a career behind a camera, but after trying sports writing, he found his true passion.
“I’m a sports production major, and I always thought I was going to do something with cameras, but halfway through my career here at Auburn, I ended up joining Eagle Eye TV, and they asked if I wanted to do cameras or write,” he said. “And when he asked if I wanted to write, I said, ‘I’d definitely like to try that out.’ So, I started writing for Eagle Eye, I covered golf and baseball in the spring, and then from there, I’ve just kept writing ever since — and that’s what I want to keep doing.”
From growing up taking part in athletic action, Jones said he knew he wanted to pursue a field that focused on sports, and found a path that allowed him to share his love for games and athletic achievements with readers.
“I’ve always, always played sports, but halfway through high school, I realized I wouldn’t be able to do anything with those talents,” he said. “I always enjoyed watching sports shows, just hearing people talk about it. I really love the storytelling that goes behind it, and I think writing is the best way to do that. [It allows me to] tell different stories about different players, what’s happening in game, storylines and all that — I really like being able to do that with sports.”
Since starting his internship in January, Jones said he has learned valuable skills that will prepare him for his career in sports writing and have helped him step out of his comfort zone to try other news writing.
“I didn’t really know what to expect working with a newspaper, but I’ve [been able to] see everything that goes into it, how it’s just a well-oiled machine,” he said. “Everybody’s taken on these different stories, and communication is key — it has been really fun. I have been able to learn how to interview people, and stuff like that; it’s been really cool to learn, because I haven’t done much of that in sports… I just want to write as much as I can, and in high school sports, there’s always stuff going on. So just being able to polish my craft, get better and work on writing every week has been really cool.”
After he graduates at the end of this summer, Jones said he looks forward to continuing to write about sports and is excited about the possibility of one day working for a large sports-media company.
“I definitely want to keep writing,” he said. “I’d love to be a beat writer for Auburn, but for my end-game, I’d love to work in the pro market, maybe ESPN, NFL, or even NBA — just anything in professional sports writing.”
