Meet Our Summer 2022 Interns

Amber Adamez - Audience Engagment Intern

Introduce yourself! Tell us what you’re studying and a little about you!

Hello! My name is Amber and I’m planning on majoring in Fine Arts with a concentration on Film Production at Texas State University in San Marcos this fall. I will graduate from Austin Community College at the end of the summer with my associate degree in Liberal Arts! Currently, I live in South Austin near the Sunset Valley area. In my free time I like to crochet as I’ve found it makes a great stress reliever.

Amber Adamez with her boyfriend, Mark, and dogs, Minnie and Goliath.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Dallas, Texas and lived there until June 2020 when I decided to add to the chaos going on and move to Austin! I had applied to the University of Texas in Austin and my husband and I decided whether I got accepted or not we wanted a huge change in our lives. Our families still live in Dallas and they’re only a three hour drive. We’ve made incredible friends and have had opportunities we never would’ve experienced if we hadn’t taken that leap of faith in the midst of the pandemic.

Amber likes to crochet in her free time.

What got you interested in storytelling?

I have always loved telling stories even from a young age, and as I got older I realized while fictional stories are great, there are people out there with just as powerful and moving stories to tell.

What drew you to Decibel’s community-led journalism initiative?

When the Decibel team came to my film class to tell us about the internship, I cried during one of the videos they showed. It moved me to know that organizations like Decibel were invested in and wanted to know about a community's problems.

In addition to her two dogs, Amber has a cat named Tiger Lily.

What projects are you excited to learn more about during your internship?

I’m excited to see the filming and editing aspect of PBS! I grew up watching PBS so it feels like I’ll be coming full circle to be behind the scenes now.

If stopping at a coffee shop on the way back from a remote, what’s your beverage of choice?

An iced vanilla oat milk latte.

Briana Senegal - Reporting Intern

Briana Senegal is Decibel's first ever reporting intern.

Introduce yourself! Tell us what you’re studying and a little about you!

Hello, my name is Briana Senegal, and I am 22 years old and a Radio-TV and Film major at Austin Community College. I fell in love with telling stories as a kid and developed my passion for film in high school, which has heavily influenced me to pursue a career in streaming television and broadcast production. I am currently in the process of creating a sticker business called OverthinkingBee alongside my lovely companion, pet bird, King Jelly, known as KJ.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up on Galveston Island but at 8 years old, evacuated due to Hurricane Ike, which moved my family to Austin. I have lived in the Round Rock area for 13 years now.

Briana is in the process of starting her own sticker business called OverthinkingBee.

What got you interested in storytelling?

Since I was young I have loved developing stories. I have always found myself creating stories whether that is creating my own scenarios for books or TV shows and films. I even make my life choices into a story that can be changed and developed.

What drew you to Decibel’s community-led journalism initiative?

What drew me to Decibel’s community-led journalism initiative was the carefully constructed stories on the Decibel website. I love that the Decibel team finds stories of different communities and beautifully crafts a video to inform the people. In high school I worked together with PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs and it's come full circle years later I am now interning with Decibel.

Check out Briana's work from PBS Student Reporting Labs here.

Briana has a pet bird named King Jelly.

What projects are you excited to learn more about during your internship?

I am excited to learn more about the behind the scenes of reporting and the process of developing a story.

If stopping at a coffee shop on the way back from a remote, what’s your beverage of choice?

I sadly don’t drink coffee but I absolutely love anything matcha! I usually drink an iced matcha latte with almond milk and any sugar free sweetner.