My summer at GeekWire – GeekWire

[Editor’s Note: Maddie Stoll is a native of London studying economics and public policy at the University of Chicago. She is wrapping up a reporting internship at GeekWire this week.]

I came to Seattle without a clear picture of what a summer internship at GeekWire would look like. I certainly didn’t expect it to start with flashing lights and a protest scene. On just my second day, I was rushing with GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop to Microsoft’s Redmond campus — sirens everywhere, dozens of police cars lined up.

Minutes later, I was in the middle of a protest, armed with nothing more than my phone and a GeekWire lanyard, single-handedly fighting the impostor syndrome, capturing someone being handcuffed, pepper-ball welts fresh on his back. That was the moment I realised my internship would throw me straight into the deep end — and honestly, there was no better way to get started.

From there, the pace never really slowed. One week, I was interviewing startup founders and writing about AI in schools; the next, I was learning to use a professional camera for the first time at a Microsoft alumni event, or touring floating homes on Lake Union. Seattle pulled me from story to story and frame to frame.

Impressions of the city

I grew up in London, and now I study in Chicago. Both cities shaped my sense of urban life: London, polished and cosmopolitan; Chicago, bold and bustling but softened by its Midwestern warmth. Seattle, though, was new to me. And stepping into it, I immediately sensed something different.

Seattle struck me as slower and more introspective than either London or Chicago, but every bit as ambitious. Its identity seems tied to technology and creativity, but equally to lifestyle: coffee, hiking, biking, and ferries! The city feels like it is negotiating between its global tech presence and its intimate, outdoorsy character.

What stood out to me as an outsider were the little quirks you only notice once you’re here. I’d heard about the so-called “Seattle Freeze” and expected to feel it. Instead, I found people friendlier than I’d imagined — more open than in London, even if not quite as instantly warm as in Chicago — and the interactions I had felt kind and welcoming.

Getting around without a car had its challenges, but I was struck by how walkable and bike-friendly many neighbourhoods are, which makes exploring the city feel easy and enjoyable.

Then there’s the harder edge: visible homelessness and concerns about crime, reminders of the economic pressures that come with Seattle’s tech-driven boom. It’s a city of innovation and growth, but also of stark contrasts — where gleaming skyscrapers and tents can share the same block.

Yet, despite these complexities, Seattle felt like a city still defining itself, and one that invited reflection as much as ambition. For someone arriving from the outside, that mix of contradictions is fascinating.

The journalism itself

GeekWire threw me into Seattle’s tech scene from the very start. I had the opportunity to cover a huge range: AI in schools, startups making Madrona’s IA40 list, agricultural tech innovations, and even the Allen Institute sending stem cells into space. A few moments stand out:

• Writing about the next chapter for AI in schools — exploring how education is cautiously embracing AI tools.
• Meeting Seattle’s travelling math magician — aiming to build a physical maths museum for the city, and reiterated how much problem-solving still matters in the AI age.
• Working with reporter Lisa Stiffler on my story about WSU’s strawberry-picking robot — it uses puffs of air to find the ripest fruit, a surprisingly tricky task for robots! Lisa also walked me through her editing process on this story, which was fascinating to see.
• Interviewing Miki and Anantika, the FoundHer House founders — two students, both from Seattle, who launched an all-female AI hacker housein San Francisco, giving young women a place to live, build startups, and support each other during the city’s AI boom. Interviewing them was especially inspiring because they’re essentially my age, yet already reshaping what entrepreneurship can look like for women in tech.
• Touring Recompose, Seattle’s human composting funeral home, with reporter Kurt Schlosser — an experience that highlighted the creativity of technology and the range of topics GeekWire covers.

Along the way, I had the chance to sit in on some of the city’s big conversations – from Microsoft president Brad Smith at the Seattle Metro Chamber, to alumni and entrepreneurs at Microsoft Alumni Network Connect 2025 event, to the Breaking the Glass Ceiling women’s leadership event with chief sales and marketing officer Holly Grambihler, senior sales strategist Miya Doane and project manager Jessica Reeves, as well as GeekWire’s very own deck party.

Living in Seattle

Work was only half the story. Living in a Fremont hostel gave me a front-row seat to the neighbourhood’s vintage charm: Thai food on every corner, the buzzing Sunday market, endless coffee, and Lime scooters gliding along the Burke-Gilman Trail.

When I wasn’t in Fremont, I was dog-sitting in Queen Anne. Between walks with Otis, the dog of GeekWire co-founder John Cook’s brother, and evenings spent at Kerry Park, I got to see a quieter, neighbourhood-y side of Seattle, with some of the best views of its skyline.

And I tried to squeeze in as much as I could, highlights being:

• Watching the sunset at Golden Gardens.
• A weekend trip to the San Juan Islands.
• Hiking at Mount Rainier.
• Wandering the Washington Park Arboretum.
• Getting lost in the glass at the Chihuly museum.
• Seeing the Pacific from Ocean Shores.
• Exploring the Seattle Art Museum and especially its Ai Weiwei exhibit.
• Soaking up the Bumbershoot music festival.

Hacks, Snacks, and AI

One of the quirkiest and most useful parts of the internship was experimenting with AI in journalism itself. Tools like Otter.ai sped up transcriptions; ChatGPT offered constructive feedback on my writing, supplementing careful edits by GeekWire editor Taylor Soper; and Jessica’s “Hacks & Snacks” workshop showed me how AI could lighten the load of administrative tasks.

It wasn’t just about learning new tech tricks. It was about creating this culture of transparency around AI, and recognising how the industry I want to enter is already being reshaped. As this internship demonstrated, both through the stories I covered and the work inside the newsroom, AI can’t be ignored. It’s here — as a tool, a challenge, and a frontier where journalists will have to continually redefine and defend their craft.

By the end, my summer felt like a collage: protests and panels, deadlines and dogs, ferries and festivals. Seattle may be slower than London and more easygoing than Chicago, but it’s every bit as ambitious – and I felt that ambition in the rhythm of my days here.

Thank you to everyone I met along the way!