Chips Watch: Scholars Spring ahead

Special for chipsquinn.org

Posted: May 13, 2003

Springsters rules … Spring 2003 Scholar Jeremy Verdusco will be staying on as a copy editor at the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner. He’s been named an ASNE/APME Fellow at the newspaper. Congrats, Jeremy! And welcome to the ever-growing merry band of Chipsters working in the nation’s greatest (but weirdest) news state!

More Spring news … Robyn Jones wrote a bang-up series on black history month for her host newspaper, The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C., and as a result, was invited to speak at a community black history month program in town. "The organizer was impressed by the column and integration stories I wrote. So I thought that was neat." Way to go, Robyn!

The Big Easy … This year’s ASNE convention is in New Orleans, everyone’s favorite city, and at least five Chipsters were chosen to work on the ASNE Reporter, the daily newspaper of the largest annual gathering of the nation’s newspaper editors. They are: April Rushing (Fall 2001), from the University of Memphis; Brandi Jade Thomas (Summer 2001), a photographer and ASNE/APME Fellow at The News-Star in Monroe, La.; Sarah Jimenez (Summer 2001), a student at the University of Southern California; Heather Lee Charles (Summer 2001) from Ohio University; and Gabrielle Maple (Summer 2002), a student at Southern University and A&M College.

April, summing up the sentiment, says: "I am excited to have the opportunity to represent my school and the Chips Quinn Scholars during the event. The fact that I am going back to New Orleans doesn't hurt, either!"

West Texas update … Adriana Chavez (Summer 2000) has been named East Side neighborhoods reporter for the El Paso (Texas) Times. "I cover one of El Paso's fastest-growing neighborhoods, and I also cover city-desk general assignments during the weekend." Keep us posted.

Shootin’ Summer … Jerome Nakagawa (Spring 2003) has been invited to take part in The Associated Press Photojournalism Summer internship program. He will spend six weeks in Washington, D.C., doing a photo-editing internship. Afterward, he will be assigned to an AP bureau to do some shooting. "I'm really excited!" Jerome says. So are we!

Poetry in motion … Our poet-in-residence, Michelle Pinkard (Fall 1999) has been doing a lot more than covering the military for The Times of Shreveport, La. She’s been writing poetry. Her first collection -- "The Eye of the Tornado" -- will be published this Fall, by an independent publisher in New York. Congrats. Well-deserved!

Wedding belle Mel … Best wishes to Milagros (Mel) Lujan (Summer 2002), who now is Mel Lujan Delgado, on her recent wedding to her longtime love. Mrs. Mel says: "We had a small celebration with a little over 100 of our family members and close friends. We were told everyone has a horror story to tell about their wedding day. We have a lot of horror stories. One of them is three days before the wedding, we received a call telling us that the reception hall had been double booked. When it came down to it, the others were booked long before we were, so we had to find another place to have the reception. I have to admit that my eyes began to get teary. My then fiancé called a few people he knew and we found a beautiful place within an hour of the bad news. Thank God for friends!" Oh yes: Mel also has a new job -- working as a part-time agricultural reporter with the Madera (Calif.) Tribune. Happy new life, Mel!

War news … As the war in Iraq continues, Chipsters near and far report in on their various war assignments. Jenny Sit (Summer 2000), now at The Tribune in Paso Robles, Calif., went to a military installation just before the first strikes. "When I was talking to these soldiers, I still held out hope that it wouldn't happen; that they would not be sent off to war."

Movin’ on … Erika Slife (Summer 1999) has taken a job as a reporter with the Lerner Community Newspapers in Lincolnwood, Ill., outside Chicago.

Jessi Todden (Fall 2001) is the newest reporter at the Daily News-Sun in sunny Sun City, Ariz., a suburb of Phoenix. "The learning curve is about 30 seconds, and I love it!" Jessi says.

Rhina Guidos (Summer 1998) has left the Pacific Northwest to head back to Salt Lake City. "I'm going back to The Tribune five years after they gave me my start in journalism." Welcome home!

Dreamin’ … Aydrea Walden (Summer 2000) finished her 14-month internship at The Seattle Times, moved to Los Angeles to "chase some dreams" and now: "I’m a writers' assistant on the Nickelodeon show ChalkZone (Saturdays mornings). I'm writing some for the show, too. The episodes I'm writing will be out next year." Dream, Chipsters!

These just in:

Leigh Jimmie (Summer 2002) placed 11th in the national Hearst Foundation photo competition. Congrats!

Nancy Flores (Summer 2001) found doors of opportunity open for her after her CQ Summer. After a Fall internship with the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, she was accepted to the Poynter Institute’s news reporting and writing Summer fellowship. She will go to St. Petersburg, Fla., after graduating in May.

Erin Mayes (Spring 2002) has taken a reporting job with The Union Democrat in Sonora, Calif.

Tiffany Lacey (Summer 2001) has moved from The Gadsden (Ala.) Times to The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News.

The hits keep coming:

Anthony McCartney (Spring 2001) is covering the Montgomery bureau for The Huntsville (Ala.) Times and is having a grand old time.

And on … Laurencia Smith (Summer 2002) has been hired on the wire desk at the Temple (Texas) Daily Telegram.

And on … Michelle Lee (Summer 2002) has moved on to be a reporter on the community staff of The Journal News in White Plains, N.Y. She had been an intern at the Poughkeepsie (N.Y.) Journal.

You can’t keep a good copy editor down … Minal Gandhi (Summer 2002) has this to say about that: "Lemme hear ya say, oohhhhh ahhhhh ... summertime in the LBC!" Translation: Minal has landed a full-time job at the Press-Telegram in Long Beach, Calif., as a copy editor. Minal says, "That song has been on repeat in my head, and it needed a release. So yes, I'm happy! For the past four days I’ve been daydreaming that I'm sunbathing on the beach in the winter, sipping Mai Tais with snoop as the dove shack song plays." Great news, Minal!

More copy editing … our own Dionne Wilson (Summer 2002) has accepted a Dow Jones Newspaper Fund Summer internship at the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer. She’ll be working in sports! Di says: "There were only 10 spots for sports copy editing positions, so I am very excited!" Lemme hear you say, yeah!

Arizona changing … Kristen Go (Summer 1996 and 1997) reports in with news from the Arizona Republic: "Belinda Long (Summer 1999) left the Republic and is headed to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. She'll be a graphics reporter. … Claudia Provencio (Summer 1998) has found a job in the Phoenix area working as a writer for the Phoenix Diocese's Catholic newspaper. … Also, Christina Lucarotti (Spring 2002) has been hired on as a two-year fellow."

Belinda … coming to South Florida Sun-Sentinel! There she will join ArLuther Lee (Summer 1996), Daniella Aird (Fall 2001), Edgar Sandoval (Summer 1999), and -- coming as a Summer reporting intern -- Christian Moises (Summer 2002); to say nothing of all the other Florida Chipsters and writing coaches decorating the flat Florida landscape, including the first and aforementioned Jeremy Verdusco. What a clan!

’Till next time.

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