Chips Watch: Please don’t go, editors ask many Spring Scholars

Special for chipsquinn.org

Posted: May 13, 2003

An update on what’s happening to your Chipster colleagues, starting with those whacky Springsters, who are winding down this very week.

But in many cases they are staying on … A bevy of Spring ’03 Scholars have been asked to stay on at their host papers. Ernestine Bousquet has been hired as a full-time reporter at The Bulletin in Bend, Ore., and Chris Young is staying there for an extended internship! … Isabelle Gan will stay at the Press Journal in Vero Beach, Fla., through Summer’s end. … Stormin’ Norman Narvaja will stay at the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y., for the Summer.

There’s more … Kevin Pang is staying until June at his host paper, The Arizona Republic in Phoenix, and also has been accepted into the METPRO program at the Los Angeles Times for Fall. But that’s not the end of it. … Says Pang, "It turns out one of the editors who interviewed me at the LA Times works at another Tribune newspaper. I mentioned that I have nothing planned for the Summer. So I get a call a week after, and she offers me a spot. So I'll be spending Summer 2003 at the Chicago Tribune. I'm still in shock. … Man, does life work in mysterious ways." Indeed it does!

Onward … Jan-Mikael Patterson is staying for an extension at the Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune. Heather Shije will stay an extra month at The News-Press in sunny Fort Myers, Fla.

And … Ricardo Sanchez, Springing at the Greeley (Colo.) Tribune, got to cover a Colorado Rockies game. His story focused on a triple play, the first of the year in the majors and the first ever in Rockies’ history. Sanchez says, "I was the only Latino in the clubhouse who wasn't a player on the team. Jose Hernandez, the guy who hit the game-winning homer for the Rockies, and I started speaking Spanish to each other. … His eyes lit up when I asked him a question in Spanish, and he became interested in me." Way to go, Chipster!

Goin’ to the chapel … Karen Johnson, who spent the Spring reporting at The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla., was offered an extension on her internship but declined so she could work on her wedding plans! The lucky Mr. is Brad Chynoweth, a Huntsville, Ala., guy who's working on his PhD in Amherst, Mass. The wedding is at 6 p.m. July 26 in Auburn, Ala., with the lovely Karen wearing a strapless A-line chiffon with a diagonal-flower pattern. (Who said Chips Watch doesn’t have a knack for fashion reporting?) Congratulations, Brad, and best wishes, Karen!

What a class!

Award alert … Three Chipsters were honored in the Best in the South competition at the Southeast Journalism Conference at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. They are (drum roll, please):

1. Gabriel Maple (Summer 2002 Scholar),No.5 in best news reporter
2. Rebecca Walker (Summer 2002),No. 3 in best features writer
3. Christian Moises (Summer 2002),No. 4 in college journalist of the year

Brandi Jade Thomas (Summer 2001) won a first-place award in the 2002 Better Student Newspaper Competition sponsored by the Louisiana Press Association. She took the winning photo for The Southern Digest, a Southern University publication in which she was editor. She also won a third-place award for graphic design.

Well done, all!

More shining stars … The Knight Ridder rotating interns for 2003-04 include -- you guessed it! - - our very own Chipsters. They are:

1. Danielle McNamara (Summer 2002), a University of Delaware senior majoring in history and a part-time police reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del.

2. Blanca Torres (Summer 2000), a Vanderbilt University senior majoring in English and Latin American studies.

3. Lena Fung Warmack (Summer 2000), a University of California-Berkeley graduate student who was a news clerk for Knight Ridder during the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.

Proud of all of you!

Movin’ on …Amy McFall Prince (Summer 2000) has accepted a job as education reporter for The Columbian in Vancouver, Wash. -- the town where she and her husband, Seth Prince (Summer 1999), live. "The newspaper is about twice the size of where I'm at now. And I'm looking forward to a beat change. I have been covering cops and county government at The Daily News (in Longview, Wash.)." Good luck, girl!

From the long time, no hear department … Alfred Smith Jr. (Summer 2000) is an editorial assistant at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss. Tim San Pedro (Summer 2002) will work as a Summer intern at the La Crosse (Wis.) Tribune. Thanks for the updates, guys.

There’s more … Art Marroquin (Summer 1997) is happily ensconced in LA, reporting for the National Notary Association’s newspapers and bi-monthly magazine. Says Marroquin, "I'll be writing about notary issues, such as identity theft and legislative measures concerning notaries. One major project I'll be working on is the illegal practice of people claiming to be ‘Notarios Publicos,’ which in Mexico and South America are lawyers."

And … Mitchell Vantrease (Summer 1999) reports in from Sun City, Ariz., where he now works for the Daily News-Sun. Small world! He joins Jessi Todden (Fall 2001), who has been at the Daily News-Sun about a month. Todden says, "We've been trying to figure out who we know in common. He sits next to me!"

Wil Cruz (Summer 1997)is back in touch to say he now is reporting for Newsday in New York. He says, "I can't tell you how many times I went to job fairs or interviews and Chips Quinn came up. ‘Oh, you're a Chipster, huh? Good!’" Nice to hear!

Vickie Jones (Summer 1993) has been named director of public relations and publications for
the Volunteers of America national headquarters in Alexandria, Va. It’s a new position. Congrats!

Speaking of volunteers …Lynn Simmonds (Summer 2000) checks in from the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa. "I am living in a village in the north of Togo and working as a girls' education and empowerment volunteer." How cool is that!

Out and about … Manoucheka Celeste (Summer 2002) will graduate in May from the University of Florida and will go to The Miami Herald for a Summer internship. "It's been a great year, and I am forever grateful," Celeste says. "Please pass on the good news to the others who make this program possible."

Short takes:

1. Leslie Fulbright (Summer 1998), now reporting for The Seattle Times, will be attending a Poynter Institute workshop in St. Petersburg, Fla., this Spring. Well done!

2. Robert Lopez (Summer 2001) has been named to a two-year Hearst newspapers fellowship. He will work at three Hearst newspapers, eight months per. Congrats!

3. Daphne Hsu (Summer 2001 and Fall 2001) is working with foster care young people at the Bill Wilson Center in San Jose, Calif., until July. "I was inspired by a story during my internship at The Valley Times (in Pleasanton, Calif.)."

4. January Holmes (Summer 2001) reports in to say that she studied in England after graduating last year from Georgia Southern University. This past Fall, she started her first full-time journo job. She reports for the Coastal Courier in Hinesville, Ga. "My beats include cops, courts, health and whatever else they let me do. I would have never imagined taking on cops and courts because it seemed intimidating, but I love it now!" Way to go, Chipster!

Great to hear from all of you and congratulations to one and all. Didn’t see your news here? Is it because you didn’t send it in? Do it, today! Send your news to Program Assistant Michelle Hedenskoog.

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