The Troy Messenger staff welcomed a new summer college intern this week, who is very familiar with the area. 

Matthew Phillips, a Highland Home native, is a rising senior at Mississippi State University and a broadcast journalism major. While Phillips grew up in Highland Home, both of his parents and his older brother graduated from Troy University. 

Phillips said that he started a weather blog for the area during high school, which was his introduction into writing. Journalism, though, wasn’t his first interest going into college.

“I was planning to go into meteorology,” Phillips said. “After taking some journalism classes I realized it was more up my alley. That was more my cup of tea. I took a TV production class last fall and that’s what really transitioned me into changing my major.” 

Phillips said he’s enjoyed his time on campus at Mississippi State.

“It’s pretty cool,” he continued. “But, it’s no Alabama. It’s an SEC platform, though, and is a fun place. Going out to the baseball games are pretty fun, we have a pretty solid baseball program.”

Phillips said that his goal is to one day be a television news anchor but right now he’s focused on jumping into reporting the news in the Troy and Pike County community.

“I feel like this is a great opportunity for me to put on my resume for future job opportunities and to learn more about journalism,” Phillips said of the internship. “It’s going to be really fun working within the Troy community this summer and I’m really looking forward to it.”