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Brock Hrehor
Brock Hrehor
4th year, Stevenson, Philosophy
Before TAP, I worked as a Journalism Intern at the Seymour Center and as KZSC Santa Cruz's News and Talk Director. Outside of work I enjoy playing music, cycling, and backpacking, and after graduating I plan to take a gap year to enjoy a year in Santa Cruz.
About TAP:
About TAP:
Supervisor: Gabrielle Gurley, Senior Editor at TAP
The American Prospect is devoted to promoting informed discussion on public policy from a progressive perspective. In print and online, the Prospect brings a narrative, journalistic approach to complex issues, addressing the policy alternatives and the politics necessary to create good legislation. The magazine help to dispel myths, challenge conventional wisdom, and expand the dialogue.
How does this internship apply to your academic journey in the humanities?
How does this internship apply to your academic journey in the humanities?
It can often be hard to articulate the practical benefits of studying something as nebulous as philosophy, but I firmly believe the discipline has provided me with a very strong foundation for the kind of work I do at TAP. Learned skills have come relatively quickly, but a strong foundation in reasoning and identifying objections to a given claim - like that developed from an education in the humanities - takes way more time and effort to build.
Though it might seem cliche to tout ‘critical thinking skills’ as one of the most important benefits of an education in the humanities, I’ve found this — especially with the advent of AI and its impending replacement of many entry-level jobs — to be very useful. Whether it's fact-checking a claim made, evaluating an argument I'm trying to refute from its premises, or making sure that the text I'm writing for a piece follows logically and flows clearly, the humanities courses I've taken (symbolic logic, classes on political theory, or ethics, to name a few) have been hugely beneficial working in a role that involves constant engagement with narratives, arguments, and information that needs to be verified both logically and empirically.
Projects
Projects
My first piece with TAP where I focused on how worker centers and localities are developing solutions to help address wage theft, especially among low-income and undocumented workers.
My next piece was on Colorado's Worker Protection Act, a bill that seeks to repeal the second eleciton requirement of Colorado's 'Labor Peace Act,' a 1943 law that sprung out of an era of intense anti-union sentiment and [segregation].
An excellent piece that Bryan McMahon wrote about the dynamics of the AI bubble that I fact-checked for our April 2025 print edition.
Reflections on working with TAP
Reflections on working with TAP
TAP has been immensely beneficial in bridging the gap between my academic experience and future professional opportunities, as well as informing my future career trajectory. I’d been interested in journalism and media for quite a while, and had previously done quite a bit of work with KZSC Santa Cruz, but this was my first experience working for a national publication. The past 5 months have taught me so much about how the editorial process actually works, from planning and pitching an article to interviewing and gathering sources, going through the editing and fact-checking process, and finally promoting a piece on social media. The opportunity to work at TAP offered a unique opportunity, not only in that I’d be able to further engage with a side of journalism (print) I had a lot of interest but little experience in, but it’s also given me the chance to work with some preeminent journalists and get my work published in a national outlet. I've had plenty of doubts and uncertainties about what I want professionally, but the mentorship I've received at TAP has hugely informed what I hope to do and has opened up a world that I wasn't previously aware of.
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