Hannah Olson

I recently graduated from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, with majors in journalism, international studies and German. While there, I worked as a photo editor for my student newspaper, the Iowa State Daily, and as a writer and photographer for an arts and entertainment magazine.

Highlights from working for student publications included: sleeping in a box in 40-degree weather for a news assignment, nearly being crushed by fans while photographing a music festival, photographing Vice President Mike Pence riding a motorcycle, and getting a make-up lesson from a drag queen. Iowa is a great place to go to journalism school, especially if you’re interested in politics, because presidential candidates would flock to campus.

I spent a quarter of my college career abroad, as I was lucky enough to study photojournalism for a semester in Urbino, Italy, and to study German language for five months in Salzburg, Austria.

I’m originally from Owatonna, Minnesota, a fairly small town about an hour south of the Twin Cities. (Outdoor enthusiasts: If you’re driving south on I-35, it’s where you pass the giant Cabela's).

After graduating college, I stayed in Owatonna, working at a local diner and chocolate store, all the while hoping to find a job as a journalist. Thank goodness that The Journal was willing to give me a chance, because I think my parents were tired of me living in their basement. I ended up headed north and accepted my first professional position as a journalist at the International Falls Journal, a paper covering one of the northernmost towns in Minnesota, at the U.S./Canadian border. After eight months there, the publishing company was bought out and I was laid off. I luckily quickly accepted a position as a multimedia reporter at the Bemidji Pioneer where I cover education and Native American issues.

A bit about me: in my free time, I enjoy hiking, camping and rock climbing. I am fond of thrift shopping and visiting art museums. My camera is an extension of my arm. I make a mean cup of chai tea.

I am particularly interested in covering the arts, gender, international relations, environmental issues and education.