Back from Iraq

Mike Bloomrose ’02 is back from Iraq. A lieutenant in the Navy JAG Corps, Mike just completed a six-month voluntary tour of duty with the Multi-National Force Iraq, Task Force 134 - Detainee Operations. There was a welcome-home party for him at his parents' house in West Suffield, Conn., on Saturday. We couldn't make it, but I talked to him on the phone, and he sounded well and happy to be home.

Some Alumni Come to Town

We’ve had a number of alumni stopping by the office in recent weeks, meeting and talking to the current staff. On March 28, Rob Bluey ’02, former Ithacan editor in chief and now director of media and politics at the Heritage Foundation, and his wife Missy (Bloomrose) Bluey ’01, assistant art director at The Atlantic, spent some time talking to Editor in Chief Erica Hendry, News Editors Tricia Nadolny and Kathy Laluk, Assistant News Editor Libbly Sile, Senior Writer Nathan Weixel, and Design Editor Lena Yue about their experiences at the paper and opportunities in Washington, D.C. Erica, Tricia and Lena will all be interning in D.C. this summer — Erica and Tricia at USA Today.
Caitlin Connelly ’05 came to town on April 11 and met some of the staff. Caitlin was chief copy editor and managing editor during her time at the paper. She’s still at the Center for Dispute Settlement in Washington, D.C.
Then Joe Geraghty ’04 and Michelle (Theis) Cuthrell (Dec.’04) stopped by the house after the Park Scholar Advisory Board dinner April 12 for a few hours of catching up. Good times. Joe is still working for Sen. Ben Nelson (D–Neb.), and Michelle is editor in chief of Good Catch Publishing and the mother of one of the cutest two-year-olds on the planet.

Board of Publications Selects 2008–09 Editor in Chief

The Ithaca College Board of Student Publications has selected junior Erin Geismar to be the editor in chief of the Ithacan for the 2008–09 academic year.
Erin, who is currently studying in Spain, has served as a staff writer, assistant news editor and news editor at the paper, and has been a staff writer and blogger for ImPrint, the college's online magazine, as well.
Her story "Living Below the Line" was recently named Best News Story for 2007 in the New York Press Association's annual Better College Newspaper Competition, and her stories "Life in the Jungle" and "What Lies Beneath" are finalists for Mark of Excellence Awards in the Society of Professional Journalists Region 1 competition in the In-Depth Reporting and Feature Writing categories, respectively.
A Park Scholar, Erin was selected to receive a prestigious American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) internship for summer 2008, which she will spend at Smart Money magazine.
She is a journalism major minoring in economics and Spanish.

The NYPA Loves the Ithacan

For the eighth time in nine years, The Ithacan has been named the Best Overall Student Newspaper in New York State by the New York Press Association. In addition to winning the organization’s top collegiate honor, the paper also took First Place for General Excellence, First Place for Overall Sports Coverage, Second Place for Best Editorial and Third Place for Best Design.
In individual honors, junior Erin Geismar’s story, “Living Below the Line,” won First Place for Best News Story, and Thomas Pardee, now a student at Columbia College in Chicago, won Second Place for Best Feature Story for “Snake Charmer.”
Shown above at the awards ceremony in Albany on April 5 are, left to right: News Editor Kathy Laluk, Assistant Sports Editor Corey Francer, Assistant News Editor Libby Sile and Managing Editor Tristan Fowler.

Awards from New York

The Ithacan won its third consecutive Apple Award for Best of Show at the National College Media Convention in New York City last month. The award was presented at the convention’s closing ceremony at the Marriott Marquis on March 17. The paper has won the award five times in the seven years it has been presented. The Ithacan also won first place Gold Circle Awards for Overall Tabloid Design and for Feature Writing (for Thomas Pardee's "Snake Charmer") from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association.
Editor in Chief Erica Hendry and Design Editor Lena Yue are shown here with the most recent additions to the office orchard.

Dinner with the New York Alumni

New York–based alumni from the past decade met with current students for dinner and conversation at the Heartland Brewery on 43rd Street on St. Patrick’s Day during the spring National College Media Convention at the Marriott Marquis on Times Square. The alums had the opportunity to catch up with each other and share experiences with the current generation of Ithacan editors.
Clockwise from left: internet journalist Wes Siler, Vanessa Schneider ’07, junior Erica Hendry, Emily Paulsen ’05, Jennifer (Hodess) Gonzalez ’02, Stephanie Serino (hiding behind Jen), Deepa Shah ’06, Jennifer (Quinzi) D’Agnes ’00, Chris D’Agnes, Cole Louison ’00, Lisa Boyars ’01, Mike Cagnazzi ’98, James Sigman ’98, freshman Alexis McNutt, Liz Crowley ’04, sophomore Kiersten Timpe, sophomore Nick Santos, sophomore Patrick Doyle and freshman Libby Sile.