Knight CUNYJ Summer 2015 Fellows
Leah Johnson
Leah Johnson’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at the Wall Street Journal. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Indiana University alum Raju Narisetti, a senior vice president/strategy for News Corp.
At the end of the program, she returned to Indiana University to complete her senior year. Leah had a double major — Journalism, and African American and African Diaspora Studies — with a certificate in political and civic engagement.
Leah has reported on issues of race, class and identity as an intern for WPLN Public Radio, an NPR member station in Nashville, Tenn., and EL Gazette in London, England. She has reported and produced for WFIU, an NPR member station in Bloomington, Ind.
She was also a multimedia reporter for the Indiana Daily Student, president of the Indiana University chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists and co-president of the award-winning online public radio station, American Student Radio. She hails from the one and only Indianapolis, Ind.
Aaron Montes
Aaron Montes’ Knight CUNYJ internship was at Voices of New York, where he reported on issues of importance to New York’s immigrant communities. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was Frances Robles, correspondent for The New York Times. He currently covers business and politics in El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez in Mexico for El Paso, Inc., a business journal.
He completed his bachelor’s at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). He is a multimedia journalist who covers socio-economic and political stories on the U.S./Mexico border.
Aaron was city editor of Borderzine.com, a bilingual online news magazine at UTEP, where he helped students develop stories and implement multimedia into story packages. As the senior correspondent, he also wrote on cultural and political issues.
He worked as a photo editor and multimedia editor for The Prospector, UT El Paso’s daily newspaper. While at the paper, he covered a bomb threat, staying behind when everyone else was evacuating, to report for the next publication. He also covered and contributed multimedia of the demolition of a smokestack and City Hall building.
Aaron also participated in the Scripps Howard Semester in Washington program, Montes trained as a reporter under Charlie Ericksen for Hispanic Link News Service. He has reported political stories on immigration. He covered the State of the Union and congressional committee meetings at the Capitol.
Antoine Shelton
Antoine Shelton was a sports writer at his Knight CUNYJ internship with Sports World News, a component of Claire Entertainment. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was Michael J. Feeney, multimedia journalist and president of New York Association of Black Journalists.
Antoine earned his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism at Florida A&M University and graduated magna cum laude. During his time at FAMU, he was involved in many media outlets within the School of Journalism and Graphic Communication.
He served as a beat writer and correspondent for the campus newspaper, The Famuan. He also served as a multimedia journalist for the university’s TV station, News 20 at Five, where he was responsible for weekly package production.
Antoine also was an intern for the university’s Sports Information Department. He learned the importance of collecting statistics, bookkeeping and player personal relationships during this internship. He also served as a videographer during the 2014 football season.
He is a freelancer, producing online stories that focus on college basketball. He hails from Williamstown in southern New Jersey. He earned an Associate in Arts degree from Gloucester County College, where he majored in communications.
Pauly Denetclaw
Pauly Denetclaw’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at NPR’s Latino USA. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Carmen Cusido, associate writer for the Wildlife Conservation Society and Latino Voices contributor for the Huffington Post.
Pauly is currently a staff reporter for the Navajo Times in Window Rock, Arizona where she had her first journalism internship in 2012. In 2016, she was a co-recipient of the Native American Journalist Association’s Richard LaCourse Award for Investigative Reporting.
She is a Diné (Navajo) woman born and raised in Manuelito, N.M. She is Haltsooi (Meadow People) born for Kinyaa’áanii (Towering House People).
Pauly majored in mass communication and journalism with an emphasis on multimedia journalism and minored in Native American studies at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M.
She was also a Senior Fellow for Generation Justice (GJ), a nationally recognized multimedia projects that utilizes positive youth development to teach young people how to create media from a social justice frame.
Pauly was also an intern and stringer for National Native News (NNN), an international five-minute radio news program that covers Indian Country. As an intern and stringer, she produced one-minute radio news pieces.
She served as the Associated Students of UNM representative for the KUNM Radio Advisory Board as well as vice president of UNM’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter. She was also the co-founder and co-president of Generation Justice of UNM.
Edwin Torres
Edwin Torres’ Knight CUNYJ internship was at ProPublica. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was David Gonzalez, journalist and Lens Blog co-editor at The New York Times. Edwin was a member of the New York Daily News and ProPublica team that won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service.
Edwin is a photographer and writer concerned with telling stories of moral force that shed light on human issues. He was born in the Hunts Point area of the Bronx. He developed a love for this vibrant community and is inspired to tell its stories.
He graduated from Colby College with a degree in American Studies. His major helped foster his intellectual curiosity about history and current events.
He is interested in exploring the complex interactions of histories, cultures, identities and representations that have shaped the experiences of people living in the United States.
Edwin uses the camera as a tool to communicate and meet others. The camera also helps him bring to light issues that have poor representation.
He freelances as a photojournalist for the New York Times. He volunteers at the Bronx Documentary Center. His work has been published in the New York Times, Daily Mail, Global Post, Leica Blog and other publications.
Kendall Alexander
Kendall Alexander’s Knight CUNYJ interned as a radio/podcasting intern at Claire Entertainment. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Nikita Stewart, a reporter at The New York Times.
Kendall is a multimedia journalist from the City of Brotherly love and Sisterly Affection — Philadelphia, Pa. She has enjoyed dabbling with the pen all her life. It was only recently that she discovered she could build a career out of it.
A graduate of Hampton University, she spent her college years involved in the campus radio station, 88.1 FM WHOV, and as director of WHOV News TV9. Her journalism experience includes contributions to the quarterly publication The International Review of African American Art and weekly publication The Philadelphia Sunday Sun.
She also contributed audio, video and online content for 900 AM WURD. When she isn’t writing, Kendall volunteers at local Girl Scout troops, food banks, and Habitat for Humanity. She is currently serving as social media manager for a non-profit dedicated to veteran affairs.
A creative spirit at heart, Kendall enjoys working with her hands drawing and painting. She also travels, practices meditation, is a nature buff, and digs in the crates. Although she resides in Philly, she is a die-hard Steelers fan. Kendall’s favorite quote is “speak the truth even if your voice shakes.”
Manolo Morales
Manolo Morales’ internship was with Harlem Focus, a product of the City College of New York and the Amsterdam News. Manolo’s Knight CUNYJ mentor was Yolanda Rodriguez, a reporter formerly at the Atlanta Journal Constitution who is now the associate director of career services at the CUNY J-School.
Manolo is currently earning his master’s degree at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, where he is a member of the Class of 2017 and chose International Reporting as his concentration. In the summer of 2017, he interned at Reforma, a national newspaper in Mexico. He’s also interned for NPR’s Latino USA. He hopes to purse a career in public radio or podcasting.
He describes himself as curious, creative – and a little bit silly. Manolo was born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens. Raised by a single mother, Manolo was the first to attend and graduate from college. He hopes to set a good example for his teen sister and younger brother.
Manolo earned his bachelor’s degree at CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Initially, he thought he would major in criminal justice and pursue a career in the law field. Instead, he majored in English and minored in journalism. He majored in English because he loves reading and exploring literature.
Reading has opened his mind to new and creative ideas. He likes to wander off in someone else’s world, such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Fydor Dostoevsky, which can be a bit creepy and melancholy. Like these authors, he wants to connect with people, but through journalism.
While at John Jay, he joined the John Jay Sentinel school newspaper as a staff writer. He worked on a story with his classmates about questioning the NYPD use of an informant on campus.
Mozes Zarate
Mozes Zarate’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at the Wall Street Journal. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was Hugo Balta, senior director, multicultural content, at ESPN and former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. He is currently an associate editor at Sacramento News & Review.
Mozes earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at the California State University, Chico. He discovered news writing at Cosumnes River College in Sacramento, reporting for its bi-weekly student newspaper, The Connection.
He served as a staff writer, news editor then managing editor for The Orion, Chico State’s student newsroom. He received metro news experience while reporting for The Sacramento Bee as a Scripps Howard Foundation Summer 2014 intern. Mozes has also freelanced as a contributing writer for USA Today College.
He is a member of the National Association for Hispanic Journalists and is Chips Quinn Scholar, part of a program that provides training to minority student journalists. Mozes is Mexican American and originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.
Evan Ortiz
Evan Ortiz’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at Bloomberg Businessweek. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was Errol Louis, host of Time Warner Cable NY1’s Inside City Hall.
Evan thinks that everyone has a need to feel connected and that being connected is the foundation that shapes our understanding of who we are. Evan once shied from this awareness, but it now guides the work he produces as a visual journalist.
He picked up his first camera in high school. That’s when he discovered the potential of learning even more about other people through his viewfinder.
Evan was a member of the 2014 New York Times Student Journalism Institute in New Orleans. At the Institute, Evan visually told the stories such as the graduation rates in the public school system, coastal erosion and the wedding culture.
He has interned at the New York Times’ photography blog, Lens and was responsible for researching potential projects to be showcased and helped to organize and schedule content with Times Editors. This experience gave him an intensive and multi-faceted view of the field where stories are created and shared.
Rahima Nasa
Rahima Nasa’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at Voices of New York. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Nancy Ayala, freelance journalist formerly of USA Today, US Weekly and ABCNews.com. Rahima is currently matriculating at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, where she is a member of the Class of 2017.
Rahima honed her passion for storytelling at Syracuse University, where graduated in May 2015 with a degree in journalism and international relations. She focused her studies on South Asia and the Middle East, which are two regions she hopes to report from in the future.
After four years of going to college in central New York, she was excited to return to the city that helped make her who she is. Although she considers herself a native New Yorker, she was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh. She immigrated to the U.S. with her family when she was 4 years old.
Her childhood in the city allowed her to grow up with constant exposure to different cultures, languages, ideas and challenges. Her upbringing has deeply shaped her writing and the topics that are of interest to her the most. This includes race, women, the South Asian diaspora, immigration, urban affairs and foreign policy.
When Rahima is not writing, she enjoys traveling, eating foods she can’t pronounce, quoting Drake lyrics, and thinking about moving to Istanbul. She thrives off pistachio baklava and the rush of turning in a story a right before deadline.
Rebeca Ibarra
Rebeca Ibarra’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at WNYC Radio. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Octavio Blanco, online news editor at CNNMoney.com and vice president of the NYC chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Rebeca is currently Assistant Producer at WNYC Radio.
Rebeca traded her comfy Mexico City home for a tiny Brooklyn studio straight out of high school. She ventured into New York City on her own to study drama.
After graduating, she worked as an actress, performing in everything from radio and TV commercials to avant-garde plays that forever changed her perception of storytelling. It was after working with a theater director who went on to become an Oscar-nominated documentarian that Rebeca realized her love of stories went beyond the stage and decided to go back to school for journalism.
Rebeca is carrying on the family tradition. After a long career as a reporter, her grandfather founded a travel trade newspaper where her family has worked for over four decades. Although her abuelito had retired from hard-news reporting by the time she was born, she grew up listening to stories of his days as a Mexico City journalist who garnered a long list of enemies in high places; who would kiss his wife and children goodbye as if it were the last time, then leave for work everyday with a gun tucked in his waistband.
She interned at the New York Daily News, where she hit the frigid winter streets in search of quotes.
Rio Fernandes
Rio Fernandes’ Knight CUNYJ internship was with the online foodie site, The Daily Meal. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was Ron Howell, reporter formerly at Newsday and currently a journalism educator at Brooklyn College.
Rio is a graduate of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communications at Washington State University. He grew up in Sammamish, Washington, a city 20 minutes east of Seattle.
His father is Roger Fernandes, a Native American storyteller and artist and his mother is Patrica Lemus, an assistant Director for Social Services at King County. The two fostered an acute awareness into the importance of his Hispanic and Native American background that he continues to carry with him.
Like many graduates, Rio still doesn’t have a place he calls “home.” He hasn’t stayed in Sammamish for more then a few weeks in the past couple years so he struggles to call it home. Pullman was his home, but now, as an alumni, he knows that he must leave the Palouse and venture out into the real world to find where he really belongs.
An avid traveler, he is open to possibility of living anywhere and trying anything to further his career as and aspiring multimedia journalist. Attending Washington State University and its exemplary communications program allowed Rio to grow as a journalist across all platforms. He developed a passion in covering Native American news after working as a communications assistant for the WSU tribal office.
Constanza Gallardo
Constanza Galardo’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at WNYC Public Radio. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Geraldine Cols Azócar, producer at MSNBC and president of the NYC chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Constanza is currently matriculating at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, where she is a member of the Class of 2017.
Constanza was born and raised in Mexico City. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Florida International University.
She is a photographer. Constanza has also worked in radio, where she discovered another storytelling platform to showcase her audio and photography skills. Constanza sees radio and photography as providing an intimate connection between people.
She wants to utilize her bilingual abilities to tell the stories of Latin Americans both inside and outside the U.S. Constanza has worked with CNN Mexico. She was a radio and production intern at WLRN-Miami Herald News and Radio Ambulante.
During the summer of 2014’s influx of undocumented children, Constanza told the story of a young migrant mother escaping gang persecution in Honduras for WLRN. The story gave migrant mothers in South Florida a voice during this time period. She was a digital content intern at Discovery Latin America.
She was also part of NPR’s Next Generation Project in Seattle in 2014; she helped manage the website and produced a non-narrative story in less than a week.
In Egypt and Nicaragua, Constanza documented two non-governmental organization (NGO) programs. One focused on culture; the other on a medical brigade.
Joshua Bolden
Joshua Bolden produced a 6 p.m. nightly newscast at his Knight CUNYJ internship for WHCR 90.3 FM. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was Chad Bernhard, adjunct faculty and radio coach at the CUNY J-School. He currently is a news reporter and anchor for WVVA-TV in Buefield, West Virginia.
Joshua earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Memphis, where he majored in broadcast and multimedia. He was a weekend news correspondent for Gospel-music station WBBP AM, and a radio personality for WUMR FM, the campus station. Joshua was a videographer for V2Media and Social Media Coordinator for V-Rock Productions.
He also studied journalism abroad in Mainz, Germany, and was a teaching assistant for several broadcasting courses at the University of Memphis — creating, producing and co-anchoring “The Conversation,” the first online video-magazine program at his university’s journalism department.
Joshua formerly interned at WHBQ-TV (MyFOXMemphis) and has reported for the university’s independently run student newspaper, The Daily Helmsman. He has also worked for FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”
He is a former vice president of University of Memphis’ student chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Joshua’s work has been featured in publications such as The Commercial Appeal and The Lamplighter. He has produced pieces for Grammy nominated artists.
Joshua was the recipient of the university’s NABJ Ida B. Welles award and his journalism department’s Emerging Journalist award.
Nomin Ujiyediin
Nomin Ujiyediin’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at NPR’s Latino USA. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Leezel Tanglao, senior multiplatform editor at CNNMoney. Nomin graduated from the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism in 2016 with her master’s degree in Journalism and is currently Digital News Editor/Reporter at KGOU Public Radio in Norman, Okla.
Nomin is a graduate of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J., and has worked in a variety of fields, including publishing, politics, and teaching.
At Rutgers, Nomin majored in economics and political science with a minor in women’s and gender studies. She was heavily in involved in progressive communities on campus.
As vice president and treasurer of Llego, the LGBTQQIA People of Color Organization at Rutgers University, Nomin organized the largest student-run LGBTQ events at Rutgers and facilitated weekly discussions about race, sexuality, gender identity, and other social issues. She also served as programming chair of Asian Student Council, an umbrella organization for Asian cultural organizations at Rutgers.
In the summer of 2014, Nomin worked as an editorial intern at the Feminist Press at the City University of New York, using Chicago Style to proofread a variety of materials, including the writing of Rick Moody and Mary Gaitskill.
At the Feminist Press, Nomin also composed marketing materials, managed social media, and reviewed manuscripts.
Nomin has written for The Daily Targum, the Rutgers University student newspaper. She has also freelanced for New Brunswick Today, a bilingual news website serving the city of New Brunswick, N.J.
Ellyce Ferguson
Ellyce Ferguson’s Knight CUNYJ internship was at Starfish Media Group, Soledad O’Brien’s multiplatform production company. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Angela Hill, two-time Emmy award-winning producer and Scripps News national investigative journalist. Ellyce graduated from Howard University with a B.A. Degree in Broadcast Journalism and minored in Political Science and is currently Digital Producer at NewsOne Now with Roland Martin.
Ellyce has shot and produced news packages for Spotlight Network News Station and interned for the BET Honors Award Show, where some of her responsibilities included assisting the director with script revision. But it was when she was serving as a newsroom intern at Fox 5 DC in 2014 when she realized she loved working in a newsroom. Ellyce also has a passion for public service. She was involved with three mentoring and tutoring organizations — Reading Partners DC, KIPP DC and Big Sister Mentors of Detroit.
Malik Edwards
Malik Edwards was a multimedia/video during his Knight CUNYJ internship at Claire Entertainment. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was Dan Reshef, CUNY J-School director of IT. Malik is currently matriculating at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, where he is a member of the Class of 2017.
As an innovator and visionary with a keen eye for detail, Malik takes pleasure in telling stories that engage his audience; whether it is through conversation, or through his filming.
Malik earned his bachelor’s degree in broadcast and integrated media production from Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland. While studying there, he served as a video editor who developed media productions for campus organizations.
Inspired by his leadership, university students and faculty elected him to be the National Association of Black Journalists representative.
Malik facilitated and hosted events for guest speakers, encouraged student participation, and actively engaged in university media outlets such as Bear TV and school newspaper, The Spokesman. Malik interned with USA Today in the summer of 2014.
Samuel Temblador
Samuel Temblador’s internship was at the Mott Haven Herald in the South Bronx. His Knight CUNYJ mentor was Wil Cruz, assignment manager at Time Warner Cable NY1 News.
Born to Mexican parents and raised in South Los Angeles, Samuel never envisioned himself writing front-page articles for an award-winning college newspaper. The Daily Bruin was worlds away from the inner-city schoolyards where Samuel would daydream about writing like his Pulitzer Prize-winning idols: Junot Diaz and Hector Tobar.
While working for the Daily Bruin at the University of California Los Angeles, Samuel covered the campus and localization beats for two years. His most challenging assignments saw him covering humanitarian student groups in Tijuana; it was during these assignments that Samuel developed an interest in bilingual reporting from a bicultural perspective.
In the Summer of 2014, Samuel built upon his reporting skills while covering housing evictions and education for El Tecolote, a bilingual newspaper, in San Francisco.
Nyiesha Showers
Nyiesha Showers was a social media intern at her Knight CUNYJ internship with Claire Entertainment. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Sarah Glover, multimedia journalist and social media editor at NBC Owned Television Stations and president of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Nyiesha got her start in journalism writing for the Amsterdam News via Children’s PressLine. She spent her teen years learning the ins and outs of broadcast, print and online journalism at an online teen publication, HarlemLIVE. Her internships included Source Magazine and 100Reporters and has freelanced for Parle Magazine.
Nyiesha graduated from Howard University with a BA in Legal Communications and is now an entrepreneur, writer and public relations strategist. She owns a hair boutique and hair-restoration clinic in Irvington, N.J. called Diamond Dollz Beauty Bar LLC, where she does all the branding, marketing and strategy work. She builds websites, does social-media analytical work and full-service campaigning such as event planning, gathering sponsorships and press for her company, beauty brands, lifestyle brands and small businesses such as Girlz Time Spa & Boutique.
Dakota Ross-Cabrera
Dakota Ross-Cabrera was a writer and content development intern during her Knight CUNYJ internship at Claire Entertainment. Her Knight CUNYJ mentor was Ivette Davila Richards, associate producer at CBS News and vice president of broadcast for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She is currently a Master’s student in Sociology at Columbia University studying Latino identity.
Dakota majored in American Studies at Columbia University. She grew up in Washington D.C., and studied abroad at Universidad del Salvador in Buenos Aires studying Political Science. S
he has previously interned for CNN’s New Day and Early Start, and WUSA9, and wrote for USA Today College.
At school, Dakota served as Public Relations Officer for Columbia College Student Council, has written for Columbia Spectator, and Thought Catalog.
She received the DCCAP Arts Scholarship, Malin-Serle Scholarship at Columbia University, is a Hispanic Recognition Scholar.
After graduation, she completed a Fulbright grant in La Rioja, Spain, and worked in seven small villages teaching English.