Meet the Students

Matt Benoit

Matt Benoit is a senior journalism major at Washington State University. He has written for The Daily Evergreen since 2011, when he transferred to WSU from Whatcom Community College. At Whatcom, he was a staff writer and editor for the Horizon, the college’s biweekly student newspaper, and received a scholarship from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work on the publication.

Benoit has also had journalism-based work published in The Spokesman-Review and LandEscapes (WSU’s Literary Arts publication). When not consumed with journalism, Benoit performs stand-up and improv comedy, and also hosts a radio show at the University of Idaho.

Brittany Cardoza

My name is Brittany Cardoza and I am a senior communications student. I will graduate this year with a degree in journalism and media production and a minor in political science. I am a news reporter for the Daily Evergreen and enjoy covering campus life. Last summer I served as an intern for my hometown newspaper, The Sammamish Review. This summer, I am a marketing intern for Activate Drinks, a small beverage company based in Los Angeles. I am part of a team that will expand brand awareness to the Seattle area. My passions include health and fitness, sports and politics. I am a dog lover, too!

Stevee Chapman

My name is Stevee Chapman and I am a junior Journalism and Media Production student at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. Last spring, during a semester abroad, I had the opportunity to study music production at Kingston University in London. Through this opportunity I was able to go from being a person who had never before flown on an airplane, to having been to 11 different countries upon return. In my future career, I hope to combine my passion for visual storytelling with my new found passion for travel. By doing so, I hope to share stories from cultures around the world that might not otherwise have the opportunity to be told.

Tenzin Choepel

Tenzin Choephel is from Vancouver, WA and is heading into his senior year at Washington State University. He is a Broadcasting News major in The Edward R. Murrow College of Communications. He is also minoring in Business Administration. His past experiences include working with KZUU 90.7FM as a sports talk show host and blogger for the “Sports Pundits”. A passionate sports fan, he hopes to start off in sports broadcasting after college. Tenzin is fluent in Tibetan and is a proud Tibetan-American. Cuba is his seventh country abroad. Tenzin enjoys playing soccer, meeting new people, learning new cultures, and rooting for his Portland Timbers!

Megan Clark

My name is Megan Clark, and I’m a full-time student at Washington State University, in Pullman, Washington. I will be graduating in December 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations with a minor in Psychology. This summer, I will be participating in an internship with the marketing department at the Seattle Humane Society, not only because it is a great opportunity to continue learning with real-world experience, but because I will get to work with a great organization and hopefully help more animals get connected to loving people. I also have a strong interest and desire to become involved in the public relations or marketing aspects of the sports world after graduation. I would love to become involved in the Seattle Mariners organization, but I would enjoy the opportunity to work in pretty much any of the sports teams in the Northwest.

Nick Dettorre

I am a senior graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Broadcast News this May. I have a passion for education and sports. This term I have covered stories ranging from the death of a University of Idaho student to NFL funded brain research being conducted at WSU. I hope to enter the workforce in late-May after returning from a backpack journalism trip to Cuba. I hope to one day work in the news industry as a producer.

Heather Flynn

My name is Heather Flynn and I am a Senior at Washington State University studying Broadcast Journalism. I love to learn and have a passion for communicating and speaking in front of others. I have always enjoyed writing, and I believe it is important to constantly improve my writing skills. I love to travel and would like to pursue a career where I am able to travel often and see new places. This is one reason I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to go on this backpack journalism trip to Cuba! During my time spent serving the Greek Community at WSU I have gained valuable leadership experience. I have learned how to work well in a team and how to compromise when necessary. My main goal in life is to build and establish a career that I love. I want to follow my passion and know that my career has purpose. I am very passionate about people and I genuinely like to help others. I want to be a leader in whatever I end up doing by inspiring people. I'm a big picture type of person, and I love working with a group toward one common goal.

Kaitlin Gillespie

Kaitlin Gillespie is a traveler, a writer, a reporter and a long-time coffee addict. She graduated from WSU in May 2013 with a degree in journalism and a minor in French. Kaitlin's love of travel began when she went to Morocco for a semester during her sophomore year, with a brief solo backpacking trip across France. There, she developed a love for other countries and cultures, and is eager to present a glimpse of Cuban history and life to anyone willing to read it. This summer, she will work as an intern for The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Wash., and hopes to work there full-time.

Jasmine Goodwin

My name is Jasmine Goodwin and I am a 2013 graduate of The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. I earned my B.A. in Communication with an emphasis in Strategic Communication because I am passionate about the power of social media, messaging, and writing. Upon my return from Cuba, I will prepare to begin a year of service with AmeriCorps as a Development Coordinator at Habitat For Humanity beginning in September. Go Cougs!

Madison Horner

I am a senior at WSU working on a double degree in Communications and Economics, expecting to graduate next December. My Communications emphasis is in Broadcast news and my Economics emphasis is in policy. I really enjoy learning about business development and consumer trends. I interned for “Get Jesse”, a consumer news segment at KING-5 in Seattle and really enjoyed doing investigative research. My goal is to work in front of the camera as a reporter. While I hope that my economic background will prepare me for reporting on financial and political issues, my passion is in news. I love researching and reporting on a variety of topics and being able to tell the stories of people from all walks of life. Some packages I’ve written this semester range from a local influenza outbreak to the national sequester, to a story on local cat adoptions and Washington’s #13 ranking for national cat ownership. From breaking news to consumer investigation, health, feature stories and kickers, I’ve enjoyed writing all of it at WSU and hope to continue covering local news.

Arianna Kemis

My name is Arianna Kemis, and I am a senior at WSU majoring in Journalism and Media Production at The Edward R. Murrow of Communication. Storytelling is my passion, and I delight in being a catalyst to help individuals worldwide to tell their stories. My reporting and education highlights include traveling to and reporting about Cuba, profiling a Pakistani academic group and acting as an American reference for Pakistani student journalists, and writing a series on former Secretary of State for Washington State Sam Reed. I love testing my skills in writing, interviewing, and digital production to create quality pieces for print, online, radio and television broadcast. I have traveled to 22 countries and territories outside of the United States, and I bring a different perspective with me to my career in the news industry.

Tori King

Adam Lewis

Kelly Montgomery

I am a recent WSU graduate and received my double degrees in journalism and political science. I am currently working part-time in a promotions/marketing position at Fisher Communications in Seattle and as a receptionist/PR specialist at Alpine Integrated Medicine in Redmond. I would ideally like to end up in either the magazine or public relations industry, but am keeping a very open mind. I have always had a love of government and the political system as well, so that could be a potential career path. After being fortunate enough to study abroad in London for six months and travel all throughout Europe, I know exactly what’s important to me and what I want to accomplish in life. I want to do something where I feel as though I’m making an actual difference in the world. But above all, family is the most important thing to me. With my aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents all living within a 10-mile radius from each other, staying in the Seattle area is not even a question. I’m extremely excited for what’s to come and look forward to my future, whatever it may be.

Thomas Pankau

Thomas Pankau is a senior studying psychology and enrolled in the Honors College at Washington State University. His passion for travel and love of history fueled the desire to visit Cuba, which satisfies the Honors requirement of studying global issues in social sciences. He is predominantly interested in observing the effects that communism still has in a post-Cold War Cuba while experiencing a culture so few Americans will ever get to see.

Claudia Ramos

I am a senior double majoring in Broadcast News and Spanish. I will be graduating this May and soon after will be taking a trip to Cuba to do some backpack journalism in La Havana. During this term I have covered stories from student conferences at WSU to breaking news nationally. My passion is making in depth detailed profiles and features of peoples stories. I am bilingual, and as a native speaker of Spanish I hope to enter the Spanish news workforce in the future. I hope to someday work as a reporter and eventually become an anchor.

Christine Rushton

As a writer, editor and musician, Christine Rushton, a junior at WSU, dedicates her time to obtaining her bachelor’s degrees in communication for journalism and music performance for flute. To complement her academic studies, she works as the managing editor and as a reporter for The Daily Evergreen, the WSU student newspaper. Drawing upon her experiences as a journalist and musician, she writes non-fiction, fiction and poetry. Christine plans to pursue a master’s degree in publishing and editing to support a future career in the book or magazine publishing industry. She will also continue her music by teaching private flute lessons and participating in local ensembles. Her hometown is Covington, Wash.

Alicia Taisey

My name is Alicia Taisey and I am a junior studying Public Relations at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication here at Washington State University. This summer I will be interning for Seafair and working part time as well. While at school I take part in the Public Relations Student Society of America as the Vice President of PR and Marketing where I will help market and promote the club as well as assisting in maintaining communication between the club and the students at WSU. After I graduate I hope to pursue a career in the media relations of a non-profit company, hopefully somewhere in Seattle. Although I am willing to go anywhere my career takes me. My blog and article are insights to what I have experienced in Cuba and hopefully one day be able to return there again.