It's great to be 22 years old and get an investigative reporting internship with
USA Today. It's even better when your very first assignment lands you on the front page with an important story about lead poisoning.
"Thousands of U.S. children with dangerous amounts of lead in their blood may go unassisted this year because local health departments can't afford to monitor them, a survey of major cities by USA TODAY shows," wrote Kaitlyn Ridel, who's finishing up her studies at the University of Dayton.
"It was a humbling experience," Ridel said of her impressive national debut, which happened only a month into her job. "I was ecstatic to see how that important message was out on the front page."