(Liftable Media)
Brandon Dunham
Brandon comes from a military family, so he’s lived in a lot of places, but it’s Vallejo, California, that he calls home. If you’re planning a trip out west, Brandon suggests spending some time at Baker’s Beach in San Francisco and Augies Coffee in Redlands, one of his all-time favorite coffee shops.
No matter where he is, though, he’s probably thrifting or working on his latest graphic design project. As a national ambassador for Goodwill, an occasional photographer for the Celtics, Chiefs and Nike, an ex-semi-pro soccer player, and the owner of his own small graphic design business, he stays pretty busy. Check him out on Instagram @bargainbrando!
Why did you pick Liftable Media Inc. for your internship?
I liked the Christian values that Liftable expressed on the website and felt like it would be a good fit for my career and life. I design web pages and features for front-end view and sometimes design back-end development views. I code the web features as well.
Nickname: Brando
Position: Web Design Intern
College: Grand Canyon University
Major: Web Design
Favorite Liftable Cafe Drink: Toasted Marshmallow Latte
In the Future: Brandon wants to open his own design agency and help undergraduate students find design internships.
Deborah Van Kempen, Editorial Intern
One of two interns who aren’t from Arizona or California, Deborah hails from Las Vegas, Nevada. While visitors like to see the Las Vegas Strip, for Deborah, there’s nothing that beats a good book or old classic movie. “I love ‘Meet Me in St. Louis.’ It’s got Judy Garland in it when she’s really young.”
She admits that it should probably be reserved for musical lovers, though. “It’s got a lot of singing. I watched it for the first time when I was about 7 years old I think, my family was obsessed with old classics and my sisters and I loved watching that one as a holiday movie.”
While her taste in movies has stayed with her since childhood, there are some things that have changed since then. “I despised mushrooms, and now they’re like my favorite things ever. Mushrooms that are browned with a little bit of butter. Mmm.” Whether you’re a fellow mushroom lover or someone who appreciates cinematic classics, you can find Deborah on Instagram @deborahvankempen!
Why did you pick Liftable Media Inc. for your internship?
When I first saw it, I was like this is exactly what I want to do. And then I saw the website and was like this is perfect for me! I just really enjoy the atmosphere. Everyone here is very open and friendly and it’s a much more relaxed work environment than I’ve ever worked in before so that’s very nice.
Nickname: I have all kinds of nicknames honestly. I’ve been called Deb, Debby, Dee-brah like zebra — yeah a lot of really random ones.
Position: Editorial Intern
College: Grand Canyon University
Major: English, with an emphasis in Professional Writing
Favorite Liftable Cafe Drink: White Chocolate Mocha
Jonah Ybarra
Meet Jonah Ybarra, a movie aficionado with a dream to make movies one day! “I would absolutely love that,” he said. “I just feel like there’s a lot of stories that haven’t been told for political reasons and I don’t think that’s fair.”
As far as watching movies, his favorite genre is Spy/Action with “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” topping his list of favorites. Jonah is another one of Liftable’s California recruits and suggests hiking and visiting the beach as his top two activities for visitors. Malibu is a hop, skip, and a jump away from Jonah’s hometown, Moore Park, and in his opinion, is home to one of the best beaches around.
In addition to visiting the beach, hiking and movie watching, Jonah spent a lot of his time as a kid reading. “My head was always buried in a book. My parents had to start putting limits on how much I could read.” You can find Jonah on Instagram @jcybarra96!
Why did you pick Liftable Media Inc. for your internship?
Something Keeley, the Director of Operations, said that really hit me is that we are a mission that happens to be a business. Every morning the company has prayer, and I never knew I wanted that out of a job.
Nickname: Johan
Position: Editorial Intern
College: Grand Canyon University
Major: Film Production
Favorite Liftable Cafe Drink: Iced Cafe Mocha
Sarah Hohn
If there’s anyone who likes to talk shop, it’s the editorial team, and Sarah fits right in. She’s loved politics since she was 8 and says it all began during Obama’s and McCain’s election campaigns. She has big goals and strong convictions, and was excited for the opportunity to intern at Liftable. “I want to work for a company that represents my morals and conservative viewpoints,” she said.
Right now, Sarah spends most of her time at Liftable writing stories, which fits her aspirations well since her goal is to start her career as a writer or editor at Fox News before pursuing her dream of becoming a public policy analyst.
Sarah is another Californian and loves being outdoors. “I am a huge fan of camping and hiking.” On the off chance you find her indoors in her free time, she’s probably binging a Netflix crime show. Her favorite? “Mindhunter.” At work, Sarah spends her time writing multiple stories a day, and will soon be switching to editing! You can find Sarah on Instagram @sarah_hohn!
Why did you pick Liftable Media Inc. for your internship?
I wanted to be a part of the team here because I had heard great things about working for Liftable Media!
Nickname: I don’t have one because my name is so generic!
Position: Editorial Intern
College: Grand Canyon University
“I previously attended Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California. I studied Criminal Justice before transferring.”
Major: Government
Favorite Coffee Drink: Something with caramel. Maybe a Caramel Macchiato.
Russell Spacy
Russell is Liftable’s only local and one of two interns who didn’t attend Grand Canyon University. Instead, Russ went west to study Journalism with an emphasis on multimedia, photojournalism, and videography at Biola University in California.
He studied journalism for two reasons. First, he says, “I wanted to tell stories.” Specifically, he wanted to tell “people stories.” Second, he was excited about the shifting landscape of the field. The way stories are being told and the role of the storyteller is changing, and he wants to be a part of that evolution.
At Liftable, he gets a taste of that kind of storytelling. “My role is to add video that sums up the article that it will be attached to. This allows you to get the main gist of the article, and if you are interested or have the time, then you can read the rest of the article to get the greater detail.”
When talking about his future, he says, “The dream would be to work for National Geographic or Associated Press as a photographer,” he said. But instead of making photo stories or long-form articles, he wants to make diverse multimedia packets. When he’s not putting together stories, he’s consuming them. Russell has two favorites: the “Amazing Spiderman” comics and princess movies.
“A weird guilty pleasure of mine — it’s not that weird — I really like Pitch Perfect, and I really like Frozen,” he said. For a peek into Russell’s photography style, you can follow him on Instagram @russellspacy!
Why did you pick Liftable Media Inc. for your internship?
I knew about Liftable Media through the Western Journal growing up. When I began looking for jobs as I was about to graduate, I looked into Liftable. This was mainly because I knew that as a company it started on Facebook, and as a photography- and video-focused journalist, I felt it was a company that would understand the importance of multimedia to the future of journalism. I wanted to work somewhere where they were open to me learning through jumping in and encouraged it.
Nickname: Russ, Rusty
Position: Video Intern
College: Biola University
Major: Journalism with an emphasis on multimedia, photojournalism, and videography.
Favorite Cafe Drink: I’m pretty basic actually, now that I think about it. Cold brew. Just straight black cold brew. I looovvve it.
Allison Meadows
Allison Meadows grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, but moved to Arizona for college. After spending five years in Anthem, Allison can confidently suggest the two best spots in town to visit: Amped Coffee Co and Nara Thai. Since moving, she’s become a bit of an expert on the locales. “I visit each place more than once a week, and have become a regular at both. Amped Coffee is a newer coffee shop here in Anthem where they have fun events throughout the week like Trivia Tuesdays and Live Music Fridays!”
She loves Arizona, but wants to eventually make it out to California, home to her favorite place in the world. “My absolute favorite thing to do is go to California with my boyfriend, specifically Disneyland!”
When she’s home, though, she hangs out with Stevie Wonder, her 11-year-old Corgi who was born without eyeballs. “It looks like his eyes are always closed … He is the absolute best.” At work, Allison spends her time putting together attention-grabbing graphics for “WJ Live,” a podcast powered by The Western Journal. Her responsibilities include making promotional photos for the podcast, Instagram story graphics and thumbnail graphics for Youtube. You can find Allison on Instagram @Allison.meadows!
Why did you pick Liftable Media Inc. for your internship?
I have actually wanted to work at Liftable for quite some time now, thanks to my wonderful friend and ‘WJ Live’ Producer Kayla Kunkel. She reached out to me asking if I would be interested in an internship and I am so thankful to finally be here!
Nickname: Weird and I have no good explanation for it, but in high school, all of my friends called me Egg?
Position: Social Media Intern for ‘WJ Live’
College: Grand Canyon University
Major: Marketing and Advertising
Favorite Liftable Cafe Drink: Probably the Honey Lavender Latte. It’s a classic.
Jackson Anderson
Jackson Anderson is an Accounting Intern this fall and an outdoor sports enthusiast always. His top picks are Ultimate Frisbee and rock climbing. At one point, he was a sponsored climber for Clif Bar! (If you’re looking for a gig that pays in Clif Bars, competitive rock climbing is your ticket!)
Jackson grew up in a small town in Texas called Celina (also home to Tenders, one of the best barbecue places in the country! Jackson confirms: “It’s so bomb.”)
Celina suits Jackson well, seeing as it’s a five-hour drive from the ocean. “My biggest fear is the ocean. It’s just like a body of water just trying to kill you.” While you won’t find Jackson at the beach, you can find him on Instagram @jackson.img!
Why did you pick Liftable Media Inc. for your internship?
It seemed to be a great opportunity to do accounting for a very diverse company that had a multifaceted approach to media. The internship has allowed me to see what accounting for all kinds of revenue streams and expenses looks like and is easily transferable knowledge to any accounting position I hold in the future.
Nickname: Jackie
Position: Accounting Intern
College: Grand Canyon University
Major: Accounting
Favorite Liftable Cafe Drink: I’m usually a black coffee person, but I’m really into the Honey Lavender Latte.
Sami Bagby
Another California native, Sami calls San Luis Obispo home. Like Brandon, Sami has a beach and a coffee shop to add to your California bucket list: “Morro Bay is the best beach town ever. Specifically, go to Top Dog Coffee Bar — don’t forget your pup! — and head to their backyard garden. Best way to spend a morning hands-down. There’s a perfect little bookstore next door, too. I could go on forever about what to do in Morro Bay, though.”
When she’s at work (but not actually working) she’s probably learning about new fun spots in the Phoenix area or swapping ghost stories with the Patriot Depot team (don’t tattle). Find out what she’s up to on Instagram @samibagby.
Why did you pick Liftable Media Inc. for your internship?
The internship offered everything I wanted: mission-driven marketing and lots of learning opportunities. Each day, I come in and have a new project to work on. Sometimes it’s writing product descriptions, sometimes it’s taking product photos for the website, sometimes it’s coordinating with third-party vendors, and sometimes it’s making graphics and helping with social media content. It’s an exciting place to be.
Nickname: Sami
Position: Marketing Intern
College: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Major: Journalism with a concentration in Public Relations
Favorite Liftable Cafe Drink: London Fog, “It’s so good!”
Interested in joining the Liftable team? Click here to read more about Liftable job openings!