Every summer the Beacon is lucky to have a class of interns who are invariably bright, curious and talented. This year's crop of interns -- knock wood -- looks to be equally promising. They are all experienced student journalists and have given many of us older veteran journalists confidence about the future of our often battered profession.

We asked the interns for their bios so that we could introduce them to you, our readers. Later this summer, we will be joined by another intern -- Neel Thakkar, a student at Stanford University.

Abby Abrams

Abby Abrams is a St. Louis native who now attends Barnard College, where she plans to major in English. She has been interested in journalism since high school and currently works on the Columbia Daily Spectator. There, she serves as an associate copy editor and a beat chief, covering health services and mental health. While Abby loves living in New York, she is happy to be spending her summer at home where St. Louis Bread Co. is plentiful and properly named.

Josie Butler

Josie Butler is a junior at the University of Missouri at Columbia. She majors in journalism, specifically international news reporting, and political science. She spent a semester working in Jefferson City, the state capital, where she learned a lot about the political process and increased her interest in politics. She is interested in writing about politics, health issues and the environment. In the future, she hopes to travel and cover international news and politics.

Molly Duffy

The street I grew up on is in Spokane, Washington. I lived in Fontana, Calif., briefly too, and then ended up attending high school over the river in Edwardsville. I'm now a sophomore at the University of Missouri-Columbia studying international journalism and anthropology. During my first year at Mizzou, I worked for the student-run newspaper, "The Maneater," where I was a beat writer for the student government and for the Missouri state legislature. I joined the editorial board second semester as an assistant editor and will be returning in the fall as the forum editor.

Nick Fandos

I am a rising sophomore at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., studying history and literature. I graduated from St. Louis University High School and grew up in Webster Groves.

I am very interested in politics, history, books, film and travel, among other things and think I might suffer from something like intellectual attention deficit disorder, constantly finding something new and quickly exhausting it. That may be why I am drawn to journalism. I write for my student newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, and edited my high school newspaper, as well. I spend my free time reading, running or watching movies -- preferably Woody Allen. I am a staunch defender of St. Louis, probably to the point of tedium to my college friends.

Lauren Leone

I graduated in May from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a bachelor’s degree in print journalism. A few months after starting at SIUC, I was hired as a graphic designer at the university’s college newspaper "The Daily Egyptian." From there, I became a reporter, campus editor, photographer, design chief and then opinion editor. While my major is print journalism, don’t let that fool you – I love the idea of new media, which is why I love working as an intern at an online newspaper. Higher education, political and social issues, and the phenomenon of social media are some of my favorite topics to report on. I’m a pretty easy-going individual and love engaging in conversation regardless of the topic – qualities I get from both my parents. I’m getting married Aug. 4 back in Carbondale and couldn’t be happier. Here are some oddball (but vitally important) things to know about me: I’m a White Sox fan but dislike the Cardinals so I find it odd to be living in St. Louis for the summer. I love big dogs, especially golden retrievers. In my spare time, I love cooking, going to the gym and spending time with my fiancé.

Neel Thakkar

I am a sophomore at Stanford University, where I intend to major in history, English, or something related. I have written for The Stanford Daily, and willl be a copy editor this fall. Before that, I wrote for my high school newspaper. I grew up in suburban Chicago, a place whose weather I had never missed until coming to St. Louis. This summer, I have whiled away the time reading, watching old movies, exploring Forest Park, and shuttling up and down Lindell Blvd. In the future, I hope to find work that allows me to read, write, and travel, though I may be willing to settle for two out of three.