Courtney Whitmire, a freshman at the University of Maryland, suffered tragedy this year when flooding wiped out her house and most of her small town in Georgia. Working together with people in her dorm, Whitmire and some other students organized a tournament that would donate its buy-in money to flood relief efforts in her hometown.

"It clicked all of a sudden," sophomore English major Quinn Hargitai said. "We love to play Smash Bros. - we play it all the time. We never study."

It's an awesome idea and a fine bit of reporting on our ex-intern's part. It seems like only yesterday Freedman was updating our massive photo galleries and checking my spelling. They grow up so fast!

A smashing act of charity [The Diamondback]

Image Cred

The stories I've had a chance to write while here have also had a big impact on me. If you'll indulge me in a trip down memory lane for a second...

I've been able to write about lots of things that got responses from lots of people. Starting out with you guys letting me into your living rooms, you tolerated me talking from my perspective as a girl, many of you spoke your mind on fair representation in journalism (which was likely one of my biggest learning experiences while here), and you put up with my terrible puns. I got to share with you my early impression of SSBB, an exciting development in accessible gaming, the experiences of one man in competitive gaming, and, where more of my time went than anything else, I got to analyze the analysts. Like I said, it's been one heck of an experience.

Wow. So much for a short goodbye. Just know that I'm going to miss you guys, and I'd like to encourage you all to petition Brian to bring me back as a guest writer once in a while. Thanks for everything, Kotaku!

And you all thought I had forgotten about the internships. I'd like to introduce everyone today to Tori Floyd, Kotaku's first ever intern (well, not really, but the first in recent memory. Here's Tori on Tori:

Greetings, all, from the newest (and, apparently, first) Kotaku intern! I'm a fourth-year Media Studies and Journalism student at the University of Guelph-Humber in Toronto, Ontario, and decided that working for Kotaku from home sounded much cooler than commuting to the CBC every day. Thankfully, Kotaku, agreed, and here I am. I'm currently writing my thesis essay on video games as they relate to identity development (particularly gender and sexuality), and am in the process of applying to a Master's program so I can continue studying that, and hide from the real world for another two years (or so).

In the meantime, I can generally be found playing The Sims 2 on my Mac, or an assortment of games for the Nintendo Wii and DS (currently playing Super Paper Mario, Mario Party DS, and Trauma Centre: Under the Knife). I'm notorious for not finishing games, but am willing to try everything once.

I'm looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Tori will be helping out around the tower, occasionally posting and working, I hope, on one or two long-term projects. Say "Hi" be nice.

Oh, and I am sorta still looking for another intern, one who is preferably closer to Denver than Canada, like in Denver or its surrounds. As you can probably tell from Tori's intro, the most important thing is that the intern will actually be an intern. In other words can use this experience for school credit or toward journalism experience in their future career.

I'm hoping to make my decision on what interns to hire by the end of the week or so, so if you're interested in back-breaking work for little to no pay while tucked away in some long-forgotten corner of Kotaku Tower make sure to email us your details at tips@kotaku.com

Hit the link for the full rundown of what we expect and what you need to include in the email. These positions are open to anyone in the world 18 or up.

We're Looking for a Few Good Interns

For those of you Kotaku-lifers out there, you might remember that back in the day, the Brian(singular)-only day, yes even before McWhertor, Ash and Luke Smith, I went through a few interns. Heck, I even had my brother writing for me for a few months.

Well, after much finger-pointing by the other Gawker site leads and a general make-funnery at my expense for not having interns, I've decided it's time to get some back on board. I'm looking to hire one or two. And by hire, I don't really mean pay.

To make the cut you'll need to have aspirations as a game journalist (that's with a capital J) and an overwhelming needing to write about stuff. The work is tons of fun and will include a mix of grunt work, some research and maybe even a bit of writing. You will report directly to me or perhaps Ash and while hours are a bit flexible, you'll be expected to be around during a typical work day...virtually. Pay is next to nothing, but this is a calling right and you'll be getting some very worthwhile experience and perhaps, just perhaps, a toe in the door here at Kotaku Towers.

While it's been awhile since I was an intern, decades in fact, I was a pretty steady mentor at the Rocky Mountain News up until I left, training up and coming reporters and interns to be disgruntled and jaded cop reporters. The work was tough, and the pay little, for those that interned with the Rocky, but the experience was worth it, or so they said. Hopefully, you'll feel the same way.

If you're interested, are at least 21 and have the time for the commitment, email tips@kotaku.com with "intern" in the subject line. While I'll look at people from all locations, extra attention will be given to those in the Denver area with transportation and a willingness to meet up at Kotaku HQ every once in awhile. Include in the email your location, a letter explaining why we should hire you, along with a list of your five favorite games and why, and a sample post. Please no attachments. Ignore the rules, and I'll ignore your email.

The best technology-slash-culture magazine on the planet just sent me word that it's looking for a Products intern. Candidates should have a wee-bit of journo experience and a strong interest in gadgets. What does that have to do with games? Well, seeing as Wired's had Mario Kart since last week and getting a 360 debug unit shortly, I'd say a helluva lot. All applications for the Products internship are due tomorrow, so get crackin'. Pay is $10 an hour, but the experience is priceless.

More Info Here [CraigList]