Fletcher Babb is a senior majoring in print journalism at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. This is his first experience at an SPJ convention but certainly not his last. He is news editor at the Commonwealth Times, VCU’s student newspaper. He has a passion for feature-oriented culture reporting and hopes to follow it wherever it takes him. babbrf@vcu.edu
Joe Bradley is a senior at the University of Missouri, where he majors in journalism with an emphasis in magazine design, and minors in business. He has worked as the production manager for two student publications, The Maneater and MOVE magazine, as well as a reporter and graphic designer for a local newspaper, the Columbia Missourian. He enjoys designing, sports writing and photography, going to concerts, and golf. He hopes to someday open a live music venue that will also put out a monthly music magazine. golfinguy003@gmail.com
Chelsea Brasted is a senior at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where she majors in print journalism. She designs and copy edits LSU’s newspaper, The Daily Reveille. She also writes for LSU’s quarterly alternative magazine, Legacy, and has interned at The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. She hopes to someday work in magazine publishing. cabrasted@gmail.com
Samantha Delgado is a junior journalism major at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She is editor of the Warrington Times, a newsletter for UF’s Warrington College of Business Administration, and contributes to her school newspaper, The Independent Florida Alligator. Delgado hopes to pursue a career in magazine and feature writing for a national publication. sdelgado17@ufl.edu
Anthony Fenech is a sixth-year junior at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant. He is a freelance reporter for the Detroit Free Press, and has interned at the Las Vegas Sun and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Fenech enjoys reading, writing, sports, pizza and waking up in Las Vegas. One day, he will graduate college. At least that’s what he tells his mother. anthonyfenech@hotmail.com
Carolina Hidalgo is finishing up her senior year as a Stony Brook University journalism major with an online concentration. She is photo editor and chief photographer for a biweekly campus newspaper, The Stony Brook Press, and has completed reporting internships at The Oregonian and Popular Photography magazine. She is interested in exploring international and minority issues through visual journalism. carolinah89@aol.com
Sommer Ingram is a senior at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where she majors in political science and minors in journalism. She worked for The Baylor Lariat for three years and has interned with the Student Press Law Center in Washington, D.C. She is interested in political reporting and international affairs, and enjoys traveling. sommer_ingram@baylor.edu
Alexandra Lopez is a print journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park. This past summer she was an editorial intern for Hanley Wood Media and is currently interning for the website CollegeFashionista.com representing Maryland’s campus. She is scheduled to graduate in December 2011. alopez13@umd.edu
Michelle Phillips is a junior at Rice University, where she double majors in English and anthropology. Having grown up in China and Singapore, she hopes to use her experiences abroad to pursue a career covering international affairs. She has interned at The Washington Times and The Orange County Register. michelle.e.phillips@rice.edu
Twana Pinskey is a photojournalism major at St. Clair County Community College in Port Huron, Mich. She has three children and is a grandmother of five. After graduation, she hopes to transfer to the University of Michigan’s Flint campus to continue studying photography. She will make her fifth mission trip to Central America in the spring. tp51759@hotmail.com
Mark Anthony Smith expects to earn an associate’s degree in journalism and broadcasting from Oklahoma City Community College in May 2011. He is a member of the college’s honors program and has a 3.95 GPA. He plans to transfer to the University of Oklahoma to earn a bachelor’s degree, and after graduation, would like to work for a local Oklahoma paper and then The Associated Press. mark.a.smith@email.occc.edu
Nikki Villoria is a senior journalism major at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and will graduate in December. She works as a freelance photojournalist and reporter, and her work has been featured in 16 different news publications. She also owns her own photography company in Nevada. This is Villoria’s second year working as a photojournalist for The Working Press. She hopes to pursue a career in cultural photojournalism and investigative reporting. nevnikki7@yahoo.com
Gregan Wingert has wanted to become a reporter since middle school and now, as a college senior, she is chasing her dream. Wingert is majoring in journalism at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she reported for The Rebel Yell. She has interned for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and has been published in various Las Vegas publications. After graduation, Wingert plans to pursue a career as a general assignment reporter. greganjwingert@yahoo.com
Professional advisers
Jennifer Jenkins is a home page Web producer for The New York Times, where she has worked since 2008. She previously worked for CNN.com, CNN Headline News and The Miami Herald. She is a 2005 graduate of Spelman College, where she received a B.A. in English, and is currently a part-time student at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. jen.jenkins@nytimes.com
J. Ben Kelly is news editor of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., serving his second stint at the Gannett publication. He previously worked as a copy editor, designer and managing editor at several publications in Mississippi. This is his third year in a row as a professional adviser to the student staff of The Working Press. jbkelly@jackson.gannett.com
Linda Shockley is deputy director of the Dow Jones News Fund in Princeton, N.J., where she has worked since 1988. Before that, she worked for Gannett Co. for 12 years as an education reporter, news editor, bureau chief and city editor. She received a B.A. in journalism from the University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, Conn. linda.shockley@dowjones.com
Darlene Superville is a reporter in the Washington bureau of The Associated Press. Her current assignment is the White House. This is her second SPJ convention as a professional adviser to the staff of The Working Press. dsuperville@ap.org