Meet John Besche

John is a summer reporting intern originally from the Washington, D.C. area.

John is an incoming senior at Yale University, where he is double majoring in Religious Studies and Urban Studies — with an intensive focus on Russian and Portuguese. He is a first-generation college student and a QuestBridge scholar.

Aside from writing about great sidewalks and the great beyond, he spent much of his time in college reporting for the Yale Daily News where he covered Graduate and Professional schools. His proudest piece at the YDN — a long-form investigative piece on the Church of Scientology’s fraudulent tax practices — combined his interests in religion and public life, urban planning, and the city of New Haven, Connecticut. He said that reporting from the back of a Scientology fund-raiser, headlined by a Sonny and Cher cover band, was the moment he knew he wanted to become a journalist.

During the pandemic, John spent 14 consecutive months in New Haven, cultivating a variety of skills, including but not limited to quad roller skating, building furniture, and dyeing his own hair, all to varying degrees of success. He also made a concerted effort to watch every Classical Hollywood film ever made.

Prior to college, John worked at a Japanese grocery store called Hinata (consistently named among the best sushi in the DC area, might he add) and he is prepared to revisit his sushi-making skills during his time in Toledo.

John has never spent time in the Midwest before, and he is very much looking forward to exploring a new part of the country while getting to know the Glass City inside and out. Please send him recommendations for bike trips, cheap eats, and local cinema.

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John’s email address is jbesche@theblade.com and his cell phone is 202-641-2099. Welcome, John. We hope you enjoy your internship at The Blade.