Introducing ... the inaugural Diversity Institute class
Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University, June 2 - Aug. 23, 2002
05.23.02
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These are the first participants in the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute, a professional fellowship for future journalists.
Each fellow was nominated by an editor at the newspaper where he or she will work as a professional journalist. Each fellow is committed to journalism excellence and to making a positive difference in his or her local newspaper and community.
Freedom Forum Diversity Institute Fellows
Roxye Arellano has been an editorial assistant and office manager at the Greeley (Colo.) Tribune since 1999. Her duties include writing obituaries as well as anniversary, wedding and birthday announcements. She also assists various newsroom departments and completes assignments from the editor and publisher. Arellano, who previously worked as a legal assistant and an emergency medical dispatcher, is a certified nurse’s assistant and has completed two years of study in criminal justice. She will become a community news reporter/editor upon her return to the newspaper.
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Margaret Bailey spent 20 years as a certified pipe fitter in a Georgia paper mill before a work-related injury forced her into retirement. She discovered a new direction after a friend read one of her short stories and introduced her to an editor at the Savannah (Ga.) Morning News. Bailey entered a newspaper program that trains people from the community to become contributing writers for a neighborhood news section. She has continued as a correspondent and as a monthly columnist and will become a full-time staff writer upon completion of the Diversity Institute program.
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Monica Bryant worked her way up the ranks of restaurant management at Burger King for 10 years after her high school graduation. Then she changed direction and became a district manager, supervising independent contractors who delivered the Star-Banner newspaper in Ocala, Fla. For the last five years, she has worked as an editorial assistant at the newspaper, taking on assignments that have allowed her to learn the news business firsthand while also beginning studies toward a journalism degree. For the past year, Bryant has written a weekly column for the newspaper’s “Neighbors” section. She will become a general assignment reporter after she completes work at the Diversity Institute.
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Shiloh Crawford III began work as a free-lance photographer while pursuing a bachelor’s degree in art at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He will receive his degree with a concentration in photography in June, having completed a yearlong photography internship and mentor program at the Dayton Daily News. After attending the Diversity Institute, he will return to the newspaper as a full-time photojournalist.
Kevin Jones has spent the last several years supplementing his undergraduate studies in mass communication with practical job experience as a videographer and production assistant. He recently graduated from the University of Arizona-Tucson. When he returns to Arizona, he will work as a general assignment reporter at the Tucson Citizen. Editors there will utilize his talents in several multimedia projects, which allows staff members to engage in live broadcasts from the newsroom, as well as streaming audio and video online.
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Shawna Kelsch earned a sociology degree from the University of Miami in 1987 but ended up building a career in marketing, research and public interaction. Last year she grabbed the attention of editors at FLORIDA TODAY after she e-mailed them a review she had written on a local restaurant. Kelsch has since become an editorial assistant and contributing writer for the newspaper’s community news sections. She will return to the newspaper as a general assignment reporter in the features department.
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My-Ly Nguyen wants to put her freshly minted master of business administration degree to work at the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y. But rather than work on the business side of the organization, she plans to perhaps one day write about business and other topics after she receives journalism training at the Diversity Institute. Nguyen was a city desk news clerk while completing her MBA at Binghamton University. She graduated in May and will become a suburban news reporter when she returns to the Press & Sun-Bulletin.
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Diane Tinsley has spent nearly 20 years building a career for herself at The Record in Hackensack, N.J. But this fall she plans to begin a new career path. Tinsley, who has been a manufacturing secretary at the newspaper, has come to the Diversity Institute to build on training and initial experience she has been receiving in graphic design. She has completed a degree at Bergen Community College and has finished an 11-week internship program in the newspaper’s graphics department. She will rejoin The Record as a graphic artist.
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Alonzo Weston knows all about juggling multiple tasks. For 11 years he was a full-time machine operator for a company in his hometown of St. Joseph, Mo., while pursuing his passion as a writer on a part-time basis for the St. Joseph News-Press. Nearly two years ago, the newspaper hired him full time. When he completes the Diversity Institute training program, he will become a general assignment reporter, doing a range of news and feature stories, as well as his column. Readers have voted him the newspaper’s most popular columnist for four years.Related
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Photo coverage of inaugural Diversity Institute class
Photo coverage of inaugural Diversity Institute training sessions by Shiloh Crawford III, one of the institute Fellows.
07.11.02
9 begin Diversity Institute training on their way to newsroom jobs
'I've got the eyes and ears to be a good journalist, so why not me?' says Roxye Arellano.
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Print page for Introducing ... the inaugural Diversity Institute class
Publication of biographies of initial 2002 class of Freedom Forum Diversity Institute Fellows and faculty.
05.23.02
