Chris Bernardi is a senior at Miami University, double-majoring in journalism and sociology. After graduation, he hopes to cover sports for a newspaper or television station. For this project, Chris did research and wrote a story about theories that emerged in the days and months after the explosion as to who was responsible for the devastation. He writes for the Miami Student, Miami’s campus paper, and plans to work for WMUB, Miami’s public radio station. He grew up near Chicago in Lake Forest, Ill., where he played several sports, including football, baseball, basketball, golf, and lacrosse. Earlier this semester, he designed a Web site for his parents’ restaurant, Sopa Mediterranean Kitchen.
Laura Bryant is a senior at Miami University majoring in journalism and political science. She is a campus editor for Miami’s school newspaper, the Miami Student, and an intern with the Hamilton Journal News in Hamilton, Ohio. This summer, Laura is looking forward to interning with CNBC. Laura is also passionate about community service. She does volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity and Big Brothers Big Sisters. For this project, Laura did research about those who died in the explosion, finding out where they were, what they were doing downtown, and gathering personal information about the victims. She also wrote a story about some of the victims that ended up becoming part of several pages linked to the “In Memoriam” page. Earlier this semester, she created an online resume.
Samantha Cope is in her senior year at Miami University, where she has majored in adolescent English/language arts education. In her free time, she teaches the marching band and indoor drum line at Kings High School in Kings Mills, Ohio. Sam also has performed in numerous music ensembles at Miami. One of these ensembles took her on a fully sponsored European tour. Although she enjoys teaching, she plans to pursue a career in writing while incorporating her musical experience. For this project, Sam was one of the co-authors of a story about parallels between the disaster in Richmond and recent catastrophes elsewhere. She also contributed to stories about victims of the Richmond explosion. Earlier this semester, she created a Web site for Rhythm X, one of the ensembles with which she performs.
Ashley Korn is a sophomore at Miami University and was born and raised in Oxford, Ohio. She majors in both journalism and speech communications. Ashley is also a student athlete at Miami, skating for the Synchronized Skating Team, which recently returned from a trip to compete in Hungary. In her two years at Miami she has helped the Collegiate Varsity team win two national titles and earned an International bid for the Junior Varsity team. She is also a member of the Miami Athletic department’s RedHawk Council. After graduating she hopes to have a career in writing and has already spent time working for US Weekly magazine, the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, and The Oxford Press. Earlier this semestser, she created a Web site for the Elite Synchronized Skating program.
Jaime Koziol will graduate from Miami University in May with degrees in journalism and speech communication. She is from Prospect Heights, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. Next year, Jaime will study at DePaul Law School. In her free time, you can find her reading the newest Jodi Picoult book, drinking white chocolate mochas, and obsessing about what to wear that night. She has loved her time at Miami, but is looking forward to the next chapter of her life. She contributed to the “In Memoriam” section of the Web site and helped write the story about parallels between the disaster in Richmond and recent catastrophes elsewhere. Jaime says she has found this class and project to be an amazing learning experience. Earlier this semester, she created a Web site for her parents’ business, the Busy Bee Car Wash.
Dan Kukla is a junior at Miami University, majoring in journalism and business management. He is the sports editor for the campus newspaper, the Miami Student, and has been writing for the paper as a sports reporter since the second semester of his sophomore year. Dan is also a member of the Servant Leadership Team for the Miami Navigators, a campus ministry, where he leads a freshman Bible study and disciples another student. He attends church at Oxford Bible Fellowship. Dan’s hometown is St. Louis, Mo., so he is a loyal fan of the Cardinals, Rams and Blues. Dan likes to play intramural sports in his free time, including broomball, racquetball and softball. Earlier this semester, he created a Web site for his blog, “Kukla’s Korner.” The blog should be operational by mid-April.
Kari Lillibridge is a senior journalism/political science double major at Miami University. After graduating in May, she plans to attend law school at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in Cleveland, Ohio. While there, she hopes to pursue her interest in media law and intellectual property. Kari also enjoys photography and writing and hopes to do some freelance work while in law school. For this project, Kari contributed to the “In Memoriam” section of the Web site and was a co-author of the article about parallels between the disaster in Richmond and more recent catastrophes elsewhere. She also did interviews with the former mayor of Richmond, Byron Klute, and Louise Marting’s brother James Erbse. Her story about the efforts of Louise Marting’s’s father, Louis Erbse, to clear his daughter and son-in-law’s names appears in the printed section about the explosion as well as on this Web site. Earlier this semester, she created an online portfolio of her photography.
Sarah McEleney is a senior journalism and Spanish major at Miami University. In the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, she is a BA/MA student and next year she will finish her master’s degree in Spanish, as well as receive bachelors’ degrees in Spanish and journalism. Right now, she doesn’t know what she wants to do after graduation, but has had many different experiences at Miami. To see examples of her work, visit the online resumé she created earlier this semester, at www.sarahmceleney.com. In this project, she helped by translating an article that summarized the explosion, as well as the descriptions of the victims, into Spanish. She also contributed other information to the Web site. She liked this project a lot because it allowed her the opportunity to combine her Spanish and journalism skills.
Andrew Miller is a journalism and political science major at Miami University. He has written articles for the Cincinnati Business Courier and MQ Magazine, Miami’s quarterly student-run magazine. Andrew is passionate about music and his Christianity. He serves as the worship ministry leader and serves on the Servant Leadership Team for the Miami Navigators, a Christian organization at the university. Andrew is from St. Louis, Mo. After he graduates in 2009, he hopes to attend graduate school to study journalism, music, or religion. Earlier this semester, he created a Web site for the Navs.
Hannah Saunders is a junior at Miami University majoring in mass communication and minoring in interactive media studies. Hannah collaborated with Dan Shea to make the interactive map of the explosion, using Google Maps. Her strengths include graphic design, layout, and interactive design for the Web. She hopes to have a career that incorporates these elements. Hannah designs graphics and clothing for her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, and also designs public relations campaigns, graphics, and clothing for Vision Dance Company, of which she has been a member for two years. This summer she will go to London, England, with a team of Miami students who will create a branding campaign for British superstore Tesco. To see more of her work, visit her online portfolio at www.hannahsaunders.com .
Daniel Shea is a senior at Miami University, majoring in journalism and history. After graduation, he will head to Santiago, Chile, for a Spanish immersion program and media internship for two months. He has worked as a reporting intern at the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Brunswick News in Georgia. For this project, he researched and co-created the interactive map with Hannah Saunders. Hailing from Cincinnati, he graduated from St. Xavier High School in 2004. Earlier this semester, Dan created a Web site about his travels in Europe.
Jeanna Staun is a senior at Miami University majoring in journalism and sport studies. For the Richmond explosion project, she created the home page banner and the overall design concept for the site. Throughout her four years at Miami, she competed as an outside hitter on the varsity volleyball team and worked in media relations within the athletic department. This summer, Jeanna will intern in Chicago with a sports marketing company. Upon graduation in December 2008, she hopes to pursue a career in layout design and creative writing. Earlier this semester she created a Web site about the volleyball team’s trip to Brazil.
Sam Stupak is a senior journalism and history double major at Miami University. He is from Cincinnati, Ohio. For the Web site, he scanned photos and put them in order as a way of telling stories visually. He also wrote the story about how residents of Richmond remember the events of April 6, 1968, using old clippings as research. He recently completed his senior thesis on American journalists in Normandy during World War II. Stupak had written stories for the Miami Student and the Oxford Press. After graduating, he plans to look for a job in the New England area before returning to graduate school. Earlier this semester, he created a Web site about a camping trip.
Molly Wayner will graduate from Miami University in May, with degrees in journalism and history. She hopes to pursue a career writing about the music industry. Molly has contributed articles to Guitar Digest and The Amusement, the student-run entertainment weekly at Miami. She currently works as an editorial assistant for About Campus Magazine. Molly was on the editing team for this project, and she wrote a trio of vignettes about some of the unexpected things that happened during and after the Richmond explosions and fire. Earlier this semester, she created an online resume.
Melissa Woodard is a junior journalism and sociology major at Miami University. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, she enjoys photography and writing. On campus, she is a member of the sign language club, the Sigma Delta Pi fraternity and the Chi Omega sorority. For this project, Melissa was in the multimedia group that aided in gathering and sorting the photos for the Web page. She also worked on many of the victims’ stories and wrote a memory story about the experiences of the children who were in the theatre at the time of the explosion. After college Melissa is thinking of going into a field related to journalism and/or marketing, and she hopes to move out of Ohio. Earlier this semester, Melissa created a site called “Overheard at Miami.”
