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It’s an opportunity many reporters only get to dream about — reporting for TIME magazine during an election year. But recent Iowa State graduate Lissandra Villa didn’t have to wait years to land this reporting gig. Or even months. She got this amazing opportunity while she was still in school.

Earlier in the year, the Greenlee School hosted [Phil Elliott](http://time.com/author/philip-elliott/), Time correspondent and former Ohio University advisee of Director Michael Bugeja. Elliott met Lissa and worked with other students at the School.

That’s one of the benefits of being a Greenlee student, the opportunity to network with national journalists and practitioners who regularly visit Hamilton Hall.

During her internship at TIME, Villa interviewed voters across the nation and reported from national landmarks like the White House. Was she nervous? Maybe a little. But she said Iowa State provided everything she needed to prepare for her internship. “Iowa State’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication prepared me for this because I had so many wonderful mentors,” Villa said. “And leading up to the caucuses, I was able to cover presidential candidates between classes, which gave me valuable firsthand experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”

Now she’s moving from one remarkable adventure to another. This time, it’s an internship reporting from National Public Radio’s election desk. It’s another rare opportunity for such a young reporter, but Villa said she’s excited to make the most out of it. She also credits Iowa State for helping her achieve her journalistic goals, saying, “I can’t emphasize enough how fortunate I am that my professors in the journalism and political science departments invested in me and helped me tap into my potential.”