Here are updates on some graduates of the School of Journalism master's program. To be added to the list, please send career updates to Jesse Tellez at tellezj@arizona.edu.
2022
Julia Blumberg (2022) is teaching Spanish at the University of Arizona. She is also currently freelancing in audio storytelling. Her project on the AZ History Museum's Migrant Quilt Project recently aired on AZPM.
Katya Mendoza (2022) is currently a staff reporter for Tucson Local Media.
2021
2020
Samantha Bishop (2020) is a marketing assistant at Body Works Pilates in Tucson.
Meredith O'Neil (2020) is an anchor and writer for iHeart Media in Phoenix.
Tony Perkins (2020) continues to work as a morning news anchor for Arizona Public Media.
Nick Smallwood (2020) is a video production specialist in Tucson.
Justin Wylie (2020) is signed to play for the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in North Dakota.
2019
Vivian Colter (2019) is a communications specialist for Tucson Unified School District.
Jasmine Demers (2019) is a government reporter at the Arizona Daily Star.
Tyson Hudson (2019) is returning home to the Navajo Nation to be near his family during the COVID-19 pandemic.
April Lanuza (2019) is a digital producer at CGTN America.
Angelo Lavo (2019) is a reporter at Green Valley News.
David Martinez (2019) is a Multimedia/Content Specialist for Universal Avionics.
Kristan Obeng (2019) is a general assignment reporter at the Lansing State Journal.
Dalal Radwan (2019) works at An Najah National University in the West Bank as a journalism instructor.
Justin Sayers (2019) is a local government reporter at the Arizona Daily Star.
Jessica Suriano (2019) is an intern at the Nation in New York.
2018
Saul Bookman (2018) is a content manager for FOX Sports Arizona.
Zeina Cabrera-Peterson (2018) is an associate strategist at BRINK, a branding agency for progressive brands, candidates, and causes.
Emily Ellis (2018), who won the Outstanding Graduate Student award, is a reporter for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
Alyssa Schlitzer Hill (2018) received both the Excellence in Multimedia Journalism and the Excellence in Design awards. She works as a web designer/developer at Creative Slice, a web design firm with clients nationwide.
Natalia Navarro (2018) is a morning reporter at Colorado Public Radio in Denver. Navarro, received her bachelor's in journalism from UA and interned at Arizona Public Media and the Arizona Daily Star.
2017
Wellars Bakina (2017) is the acting dean of the faculty of Journalism and Communication Studies at the Catholic Institute of Kabgayi, Rwanda. He dreams of earning a doctorate in mass communication or journalism.
Alex Devoid (2017) received an environmental reporting fellowship at the Arizona Republic. He works with reporter Brandon Loomis on in-depth stories about resources vital to Arizona—water, air, land and wildlife.
Jenny Hijazi (2017), who received both the Outstanding Graduate Student and the Excellence in International Journalism awards, is a news assistant at PBS NewsHour in Washington, D.C.
Mikayla Mace (2017), who won the Excellence in Research award and the Excellence in Science and Environmental Journalism award, is a science writer for UANews at the University of Arizona.
Ashley Mikelonis (2017) successfully defended her thesis on ““Exploring the Success and Defeat of Ronda Rousey: A Content Analysis of Twitter and Newspaper Coverage 2014-2016” in December 2017.
Riley Versfelt (2017) is working in marketing for Little Giraffe in Los Angeles.
2016
Alexandra (Allie) Adamson (2016) is a recruiter at Insight Global, a national staffing and services company. She plans to freelance for magazines (print/web) in Phoenix and Scottsdale, such as Phoenix Magazine and Arizona Foothills Magazine. Also, after studying fashion blogging for her thesis, she plans to create her own lifestyle blog.
Kendal Blust (2016) was the first Zenger Fellow at the University of Arizona School of Journalism, where she received the Philip Mangelsdorf Outstanding Newsperson Award and the Excellence in International Journalism Award. She is a reporter with KJZZ Phoenix public radio at its new bureau in Hermosillo, Sonora.
Stephen Choice (2016) is a freelance copy editor.
Jorge (George) Encinas (2016) interned at National Public Radio in Washington, D.C.
Hannah Gaber (2016), named the Outstanding Graduate Student, was a video and multimedia journalist at the Arizona Republic. She also made a film in Cyprus through a Fulbright research grant, and is now a video producer for USA Today.
Ary Hermawan (2016), who won the Excellence in Research award, is deputy director of Amnesty International in Jakarta, Indonesia.
2015
Jacquelyn Abad (2015) is a reporter for CBS 58 in Milwaukee.
Musherf Alamri (2015) is an editor at the Arabian Sun in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
Britain Eakin (2015), who won the Excellence in Research award, is a reporter for Courthouse News Service in Washington, D.C.
Shahrazad Encinias (2015) is based in Tucson, where she teaches English, journalism, social justice, and Latin American music and culture at the Kino School. She also works as a bilingual freelance reporter and editor.
Christa Reynolds (2015) is working in international health at the J.S.I. Research and Training Institute in Washington, D.C.
Catherine J. Rosenberg (2015) received both the Outstanding Graduate Student and Excellence in Science Journalism awards. She graduated Kappa Tau Alpha. She is a freelance writer and videographer based in Tucson.
2014
Shekhah Al Dosary (2014) is a journalist and Middle Eastern culture and media researcher in the Washington, D.C., area.
Anna Augustowska (2014), who received the Excellence in Broadcast Journalism Award from the University of Arizona School of Journalism, is a video and multimedia producer for the UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Also a documentary producer and filmmaker, she won a Rocky Mountain Emmy for her documentary Donnie.
Jason Davis (2014), who received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award, is a digital editor for the Planetary Society.
Sam McNeil (2014), who won the Excellence in International Journalism award, is a video journalist for the Associated Press. He is based in Amman, Jordan, where he covers refugees, the environment, archaeology, and drones.
Susan Swanberg (2014), who received the Outstanding Graduate Student Award, is an assistant professor at the University of Arizona School of Journalism. She teaches courses in science journalism, environmental journalism, media law, and news writing.
2013
Rob Alcaraz (2013) is a video journalist working as a page one video producer for The Wall Street Journal.
Bethany Barnes (2013) is an investigative reporter at the Tampa Bay Times. She was chosen as a USC Annenberg Journalism Fellow for her health journalism project. Before that, she was an education reporter for The Oregonian and a reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal and was named the Nevada Journalist of the Year for her investigative stories. She was named the Education Reporter of the Year by the Education Writers Association in 2019, and is an Investigative Reporters and Editors board member.
Nigar Fataliyeva (2013) is the English editor for Meydan.TV/en in New York City.
Melissa Guz (2013) is a freelance journalist in Arizona and a producer with First Coast News.
Corey Poindexter-Ramirez (2013) is teaching AP English at the Colegio Bilingüe New Horizons in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
2012
Kathleen A. Harrison (2012) is a communications specialist with Pima County in Tucson.
Diana Sokolova (2012) is a doctoral candidate in mass communication and media studies at Indiana University. Her dissertation is titled “Comparing two media realities: Cross-outlet framing analysis of the Russian alternative and traditional state control media prior to the 2016 Duma election.”
Anissa Tanweer (2012) is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington.
2011
Kirsten Boele (2011) practices transport law and maritime labor law at Wybenga Advocaten in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Bethany Conway (2011) earned her doctorate from the Department of Communication at the University of Arizona. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Clayton Norman (2011) is an online organizer for the Center for Biological Diversity in Tucson.
Curt Prendergast (2011) is a reporter for the Arizona Daily Star.
2010
Ruohong Deng (2010) conducts social media marketing for a top Chinese firm in Beijing.
Sarah Gassen (2010) is a columnist and editorial writer at the Arizona Daily Star.
Cece Perry (2010) is the assistant academic dean in the College of Arts and Sciences at Maryville University in St Louis.
Gwyneth Shaw (2010) reports on nanotechnology. She also teaches journalism and non-fiction writing at the University of Pennsylvania.