Coincidence -- or Fate?

July 21, 2004 - In February of 2004, NPR staff spent three days meticulously combing through nearly 1,000 applications for the summer 2004 internship program. In the end, more than 46 interns found their way to NPR. We swapped stories about why we like public radio and our plans for the future. We also discovered that we're more familiar with one another than we first thought.

Martina Castro and Julia Taylor sang in the choir together at their high school in Alexandria, Va. Martina said she could tell Julia was always going to end up in radio.

Amie McLain and Katrina Matthews grew up in New Orleans, La. They soon realized that Amie's mother was Katrina's sixth grade science teacher. Amie would sometimes sit in on her mother's classes.

Jen Pearl and Dana Maier are in pictures together as toddlers. There's even a picture of Dana pulling Jen's hair. The relation? Well, their fathers have been best friends since kindergarten. Their families lived in different states, so Dana and Jen rarely saw each other. When their families learned they would both be interning at NPR this summer, they spilled the news, which eventually trickled down to Jen and Dana, who now have a chance to get to know each other -- with no hair pulling this time!

Dana Maier and Martina Castro attended the same middle school in Falls Church, Va.

Danielle Ivory grew up in Pullman, Wash., home to Washington State University, where her parents are professors. Raul Moreno is pursuing a master's degree and teaching at WSU's Murrow School of Communication. The two had never met before this summer, as Danielle is attending college elsewhere. No word yet on whether Danielle will be enrolling in one of Raul's public speaking courses this fall.