Chips Watch: All in a day's work .... and other tales of Chipster achievement

Special for chipsquinn.org

Posted: Aug. 30, 2002

Here's a compilation of news about your fellow Chips Quinn Scholars:

All in a day's work ... Let's hear it for summer 2002 Scholar Anita George! Anita finished a Friday night shift on the copy desk at her host newspaper, The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., went home at midnight, and, at about 2 a.m., felt the first rumblings of childbirth ... "I didn't give it any thought," Anita says, "because the baby wasn't scheduled to arrive for two weeks."

But little Cameron Jajuan George was determined to come into the world well before deadline. "My labor didn't start until I was watching Beyonce's new video," new Mom says. "I think my labor was her fault!" That Friday, she says, was a day like any other. "Things went along well as all the other days ...I did, however feel awfully perky. I was scheduled to work from 5 p.m. till midnight ..." Ensconced at home, watching the new Beyonce video, Anita waited ... and waited ... then hightailed it down to University Medical Center -- "and 8:27 a.m., Cameron took his first breath." Aside from strolling and singing lullabies, Anita's immediate plans include starting graduate school in January at the University of Mississippi.

Onward ...

Movin and shakin'-- literally. Maria Garcia (Summer 1997 Scholar) is moving up to ...lead education writer in Riverside, the main newsroom for The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif. Maria says: "I will be covering K-12 education and statewide education issues. I've been in a bureau for just under a year, so when the mother ship came calling I jumped at the chance." Also ...Maria and hubby Matthew Stephens are busy getting ready for -- Baby No. 1, due Dec. 3. Hmmm. Maybe Baby Garcia-Stephens can take a hint from little Cameron...

Summer redux ... 2002 Scholar Michelle Lee sent a big hello from Dallas, Texas, where she wrote for the newspaper of the Asian American Journalists Association newspaper. "It was nice being surrounded by fellow journalists, many around my age, who kind of look like me. I also met a number of Chipsters as well, both current and previous. ... One highlight of the conference getting the chance to interview playwright David Henry Hwang, who wrote 'M. Butterfly.' He was the conference guest speaker. ..." Now it's back to work for her extended Summer internship .. see last week's Chips Watch.

Back home... Hello from Misty Crittle (Summer 2001), who is back in the states and taking a breather. Misty left for Germany right after graduation to join 16 others in the "Germany Today for Junior Journalists" program. Misty says: "The trip was most rewarding -- a total awakening to the EU's perception of American foreign policy. Being on foreign soil is one of the most exhilarating experiences ever ... you can feel the spirit of the people in the wind." Misty is working at WWL-TV, Channel 4 news in New Orleans as a news writer. Thanks, and congrats!

Catchin' up... Suzy Abu-nie (Fall 2000 Scholar) is working part time for WorldLink TV, a satellite TV channel offering programs about the whole world. She works with "Mosaic," the program broadcasting news, shows, films and music from the Arab world. Check it out.

Also engaged -- and funny ...! Marla Caceres (Summer 2001 Scholar) is engaged to be married to her college sweetheart, and is working in Chicago for the Tribune Company as a staff writer for Tribune Media Services. "I write for a syndicated job section that appears in all Tribune and Knight Ridder papers. I also perform improv comedy around the city. And I live with a moody cat."

Movin' on ... Daniella Aird (Fall 2001 Scholar) is off to Washington, D.C., to work as an intern at the Cox Newspapers’ Washington, D.C., bureau. "I loved D.C. when I was there for the Chipster orientation," Daniella says, "so I'm real excited about living there, riding the metro rail everyday to work, and working on Capitol Hill." This follows her Summer internship with the Cox-owned The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Madam chair … Bernice Guity (Summer 1995 and 1994 Scholar) tells us that she's working on a master's degree in public administration at Keller Graduate School of Management in Atlanta. She also is out on her own, as Owner and PR Consultant of P&G Communications, in Avondale Estates, Ga. Wow!

We are fam-i-ly ... Clarissa Aljentera (Summer 2000 Scholar) has started her Knight Ridder rotating internship in Kansas City. But the real news is: "I had lunch with Manny Lopez (Summer 1994 Scholar) the other week, and it was totally cool ... I used the Chips site to find folks in Kansas City and found Manny and Eyobong Ita (Summer 1997) ... It still amazes me when I meet other Chipsters and we sit and talk about our experiences then and now." Well done all!

SJSU grad news … Don Perez (Summer 2000 Scholar) was graduated from San Jose State University and started as a two-year community sports reporter/GA in the Hemet-San Jacinto bureau of The Press-Enterprise in Riverside. He joins Maria Garcia and Jamie Ayala at the newspaper.

Madam master ...Faith Price (Summer 2000 Scholar) has graduated with a master's in journalism. She's still working for the University of Montana's McNair Scholars Program (not journalism related), and over the endless summer, taught a journalism class for UM's Upward Bound program for high school students. Faith says: "Though I'm not currently working in the field, I am trying to remain connected with journalism. ... I'm hoping to do a little work with UM Prof Denny McAuliffe and his Reznet project in the fall." Keep us posted!

Teach! ... Icess Fernandez (Summer 2001 Scholar) reports that she is now, officially, a fourth-grade bilingual teacher at Pearl Hall Elementary in the Pasadena Independent School District. "This is not a farewell to journalism," Icess writes. "Oh no! I love journalism more than kids love Ovaltine. My plan is to be a teacher for a year, help my mom with my dad and scat to bigger and better things. Hopefully, my one year hiatus for my 'real world' experience will be an asset to any future newspaper employers. I guess we'll see when the time comes ..."

New places ... Grace Lee Uy (Summer 1998 Scholar) has been accepted into the master's program at Harvard Extension School (its night school). She also is engaged to her longtime beau, John, a graduate student at MIT. Grace says: "I recently got together with fellow '98 Chipster, Claudia Provencio, for a mini-reunion. We hadn't seen one another since that day we left D.C. (and all that great Chipster food) behind to tackle our Summer internships!"

Short (but important) take:

• Annamaria Longo (Summer 2001 Scholar) has taken a job on the copy desk of the El Paso (Texas) Times.

• Mike Harrity (Summer 1998 Scholar) has started a new job -- as coordinator of student services University of Minnesota Athletics.

• Jose Corona (Summer 2001 Scholar) has taken a job as city hall and education reporter at the Huntington Beach Independent, a weekly owned by the Los Angeles Times.

• Tamara Hill (Summer 1997 Scholar) has moved to a new job at a new community college, Cy-Fair College in Houston, Texas.

• Kierra Young (Summer 2001 Scholar) has taken a job as a copy editor at The Gaston Gazette in Gastonia, N.C., as part of the ASNE/APME Fellows program.

Heartiest congratulations, best wishes and good luck to one and all.

We want to hear from you. Send your news to Program Assistant Michelle Hedenskoog.

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