Author: George Rede
Published: May 26, 1998
Last Updated: May 20, 1999
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The ASNE Reporter

17 college students from a variety of backgrounds have been selected to share one experience — covering the 1998 ASNE convention

Ranging in age from 19 to 28, they will descend on Washington, D.C., from all corners of the country, representing a cross section of colleges and universities, and bringing their own stamp of individuality.

If we do our job right, we may be able to look back on a week in the spring of 1998 when we had the privilege of launching — or, more likely, nudging — a new generation of journalists on the path to newsroom success.

When ASNE holds its spring convention March 31-April 3, an eager and talented staff of 17 college students will be there to chronicle the highlights and, in the process, make a positive impression with future colleagues and potential employers.

Twelve women and five men have been selected to work on the daily convention newspaper as reporters, copy editors, photographers and online producers. They will gain valuable mentoring from a staff of about two dozen professionals, culled from ASNE member newsrooms.

The 17 collegians were selected from a pool of 59 applicants, who submitted resumes, work samples and recommendations by the December deadline. Many of the students are active in minority journalist organizations and nearly all  have had one or two professional internships. Some are the first in their family to attend college.

They are:

• Sylvia Alarid, California State University — Fullerton; reporter
• Susie Ming Haw Chu, University of California — Los Angeles; photographer
• Tiara Ellis, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, Texas; reporter
• Curtis L. Esquibel, University of Colorado, Boulder; copy editor
• M. Edward Fletcher, Southern University, Baton Rouge, La., reporter
• Steven Gray, Howard University, Washington, D.C., reporter
• Merissa Green, Florida A&M University, Tallahassee; online producer
• Rhina Aida Guidos, University of Nevada — Reno; reporter
• Royce T. Hall, Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J.; reporter
• Raven L. Hill, University of Illinois, Urbana; reporter
• Jaime Jordan, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb; reporter
• Ha Lam, University of Texas at Austin; photographer
• Thomas Lee, New York University, New York; reporter
• Marian Liu, University of California  — Berkeley; online producer
• Candace  Meierdiercks, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; copy editor
• Carolyn Salazar, University of Florida, Gainesville; reporter
• Melissa Scram, New York University, New York; reporter