BY GRACE GOODMAN AND AMANDA MACHAMER
FOR THE OBSERVER
Amanda Machamer
Amanda Machamer said she has always known English was her best subject in school. Once she graduated high school, her love for writing and being a storyteller made journalism the obvious choice for her future major.
Even though she grew up in the heart of Orlando, Florida, Machamer said she and her family harbored a love of Auburn and its community. She said she likes to think that the reason her family decided to move to Fairhope, Alabama, was because of how much they desired to be closer to the village on the plains.
Machamer said she did consider pursuing medicine at Auburn, but for her, truly loving and being passionate about her job was the driving force in deciding on a career.
“I feel like life’s too short not to do something that you wouldn’t be happy doing every single day,” said Machamer.
Her journalism experience started in high school, where she said she was the school yearbook’s editor-in-chief, and she is currently serving as editor-in-chief of The Auburn Plainsman, Auburn University’s student newspaper.
She didn’t get handed this position but earned it through hard work. During her time with the publication, she said she has served as a newswriter, assistant news editor, content editor and now editor-in-chief.
The culmination of hands-on experience, extensive editing involvement and feedback received from peers and supervisors is why Machamer now feels confident about joining the workforce.
“I think student media is so important for students,” said Machamer. “If I hadn’t joined, I would have been walking into this internship completely unprepared.”
Machamer said working in student media has taught her that mistakes are inevitable, but how you react and move forward from them determines your future.
“You’re going to make mistakes, even professionals make mistakes,” she said. “But I think the most important thing is taking accountability and recognizing that there are areas you should improve on.”
According to Machamer, no pay off has been better than first opening the box of The Auburn Plainsman’s print editions and seeing tangible proof of the staff’s hard work put into the magazine.
“It’s just a culmination of a lot of things,” she said. “It’s graphic designers who stay up late designing pages, it’s writers who go out and interview people and tell their stories, it’s editors who offer feedback, all being put into one magazine.”
Through The Observer’s internship, Machamer said she is excited to cover Opelika news more. She’s always loved people and would love to write lifestyle stories about some of the small businesses in the area. She’s also excited to expand her writing skills by covering sports for the first time.
Machamer said her dream job is working as a copy editor. Being in a role where she is editing is where she said she has the most fun, but passion arises in any job where she can connect with the community and write about important issues.
Gracie Goodman
Fueled by a passion for writing and people, Gracie Goodman is one of The Observer’s Summer 2026 interns. Born and raised on the bay in Daphne, Alabama, Goodman’s journey into the journalism field was not linear.
Jumping from architect, veterinarian and then to business at Auburn University, Goodman said she wasn’t completely sure what she wanted to do, but she knew it had to involve writing.
Goodman said she originally wanted to open a bookstore using her business major, but after taking the exploratory class at Auburn, she said she had her first glimpse of journalism. The solution was clear to her; it was time for a change.
“It made sense because I always liked to write, and everything just clicked into place,” said Goodman.
Now a senior majoring in journalism, Goodman said she has completed three years of journalism curriculum at Auburn, which she said prepared her for the internship with The Observer and the field as a whole.
“We practiced writing articles on various topics, either breaking news or more political stories,” she said. “My teacher was really helpful in giving us feedback on AP style and telling us what we needed to look out for.”
The reporting class at Auburn also equipped Goodman for the role, teaching her how to conduct interviews up to journalism standards and techniques for compelling storytelling.
Aside from skills learned in the classroom, Goodman said she is the current news editor at The Auburn Plainsman. A member since Fall 2025, she initially joined as a news writer, which she said has offered her a hands-on learning environment.
“It’s really great in giving me firsthand experience, writing for an actual newspaper,” Goodman said. “It’s been very helpful in fostering my skills.”
When asked why she decided to intern at The Observer, Goodman voiced her admiration for print newspapers and the community-first service.
“There’s not a whole lot of print newspapers left, I feel,” she said. “So it’s going to be really cool to do that and see how it’s done. I can tell that they put the community first when it comes to providing news.”
With experience almost entirely in news, Goodman said she is looking forward to exploring different beats, specifically sports. She believes this will help shape her into a more well-rounded journalist.
“I think that it would be interesting to learn how to report on sports since I don’t know how to do that yet,” said Goodman.
Expected to graduate in May 2027, Goodman said she has goals of legal or political reporting. Journalism powerhouses like “The Boston Globe” and the “Associated Press” are publications she would like to report for, as she is drawn to their national coverage and metropolitan locations.
For now, Goodman said she wants to start on a local scale and immerse herself in the community she covers, working towards national coverage.
Goodman said she is most excited to write for the Opelika community, bringing attention to issues that matter for residents.
“Hopefully, I will report on local government issues, because those are so important,” said Goodman. “Just being able to put out journalism that helps inform.”
Goodman will intern with The Observer from May 18 to July 31.
