Flinn Publishes Third Novel

Kevin Flinn ’01 has just published his third novel, “Ghosts,” which resets Henrik Ibsen's classic moral drama in northwest Pennsylvania in 1910. It is available in paperback or as a file download here. Kevin's first two novels, “Because” (2007) and “Through Night and Wind” (2009) are still available through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and other outlets.

An Update from Emily Paulsen

I've now been at the College Board almost five years. I just moved into a new role as the product manager for ReadiStep, an 8th grade assessment program that launched about a year ago. Previously, I had been managing publications and other communications projects for the PSAT/NMSQT program. And though it seems that much of my life is spent at the College Board, I'm also working on an MBA at Fordham and training for my future career as a professional runner (ok, not exactly, but I am preparing to run my first half marathon in a couple weeks and, assuming I survive, I'll also be running the NYC marathon this fall).

Kelli Grant: "Life is Good"

I've asked our alumni to provides updates on their recent activities. Here's the latest from former News Editor and Special Projects Manager Kelli Grant ’04:

"I'm still the senior consumer reporter at SmartMoney — June marks my third year in that position, my sixth at the site, and my seventh with Dow Jones. My crazy list of weekly duties includes writing my Deal of the Day column (2-4x), a column for The Wall Street Journal Saturday, a spot with The Wall Street Journal Radio Network, a SmartMoney segment on CBS, a video for the site and, now, a handful of posts for our new blog Paydirt. The site pitches me out as a personal finance expert, so in any given week I'm on Fox, CBS, ABC or other networks talking about my stories and other finance news. On top of all that, I still freelance — Real Simple, Good Housekeeping and Family Circle are the big three. And every once in a while, I get to sleep in. Still living out in Park Slope, dating a wonderful guy — life is good."

The Art of the Revku

Former Accent editor and Buzzsaw Haircut co-founder James Sigman ’98 just returned from L.A., where he was attending a “Freaks and Geeks/Undeclared” reunion at the Paley Center for Media's 28th Annual PaleyFest at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, and visiting Sarah Wright-Killinger ’00.

He is currently a copy editor at John Wiley and Sons in Hoboken, home of the Cake Boss. His latest project is is a series of “revku” —  haiku about books — which can be found on his blog, Tinsel and Rot. He is eagerly anticipating the 15 –year anniversary of Buzzsaw (Haircut) in 2014.

Alumni March Madness

Our annual alumni dinner at Heartland Brewery on 43rd St. in conjunction with the spring National Student Media Convention drew a great crowd this year. Twenty alums showed up to see old friends and meet the eight current students attending the conference.
Alumni in attendance were Nic Barajas ’08, Michelle Barrie ’10, Stephanie Belsky ’06, Lisa Boyars ’01, Mike Cagnazzi ’98, Stacey Coburn ’06, Paul Colombo ’00, Jennifer (Quinzi) D'Agnes ’00, Bill Earl ’09, Erin Geismar ’09, Kelli B. Grant ’04, Vanessa Leong ’00, Cole Louison ’00, Emily Paulsen ’05, LIz (Crowley) Pontillo ’04 along with new husband David, Matt Quintanilla ’07, Deepa Shah ’06, James Sigman ’98, Andy Swift ’09 and Kiersten Timpe ’10.

Bill Earl with current students Molly Apfelroth, Megan Devlin and Michelle Boulé

Paul Colombo, Lisa Boyars, Jen Quinzi D'Agnes and Vanessa Leong

Andy Swift, Matt Quintanilla and Stacey Coburn

Kiersten Timpe, Deepa Shah, Michelle Barrie and Erin Geismar

Another Apple for the Orchard

At the closing ceremony of the spring National College Media Convention in New York, The Ithacan Online walked away with the Apple Award for first place in the Best of Show competition and the print edition with second place.
Back row, left to right: freshman Assistant Photo Editor James Earl, sophomore Assistant Design Editor Molly Apfelroth and sophomore Photo Editor Graham Hebel; front row: sophomore Photo Editor Michelle Boulé, freshman Assistant Accent Editor Megan Devlin, sophomore News Editor Alexandra Evans and junior Assistant Sports Editor Kevin McCall.

Word is Out

Overheard at a Tuesday morning conference session:
Male Student: Are you going to the Apple Awards later?
Female Student: No, are you?
Male Student: Yeah, we're nominated for best print weekly, but The Ithacan is nominated too. It's probably worth going anyway, though.

Ithacan Website Wins Online Crown Award

The Ithacan Online, the Ithacan's website, was presented with a Silver Online Crown for overall excellence by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association this afternoon at the National College Media Convention in New York City. The Ithacan was the only weekly publication to win a Crown Award in any category.
At the awards ceremony, left to right: freshman Assistant Photo Editor James Earl, junior Assistant Sports Editor Kevin McCall, sophomore Photo Editor Michelle Boulé, sophomore News Editor Taylor Long, freshman Assistant Accent Editor Megan Devlin, sophomore Assistant Design Editor Molly Apfelroth, sophomore News Editor Alexandra Evans and sophomore Photo Editor Graham Hebel.

The Legendary Sami Khan

In New York for the National College Media Convention, we had Sunday brunch with Sami Khan ’02, who’s living in Brooklyn and “still causing trouble.” After two years with the Toronto Film Festival, he moved to New York to earn a master’s in film at Columbia, and now works as a producer for the StyleCaster Media Group, producing fashion editorials and video content. 

The Ithacan Named SPJ Region 1 Finalist

The Society of Professional Journalists has named The Ithacan a finalist for the Mark of Excellence Award for Best Non-Daily Newspaper in the Northeast region. The paper is consistently ranked among the top three papers in the Northeast, and three years ago was ranked number two in the country by SPJ.

In addition, junior Whitney Faber's story "Behind the Lens," which appeared in the September 2, 2010 issue of The Ithacan, was named a finalist in the competition's feature writing category.

The winners will be announced at the SPJ Region 1 Spring Conference in Providence, R.I., April 8–9. First-place winners from SPJ's 12 regions go on to compete for the national Mark of Excellence Award in their categories. 

Bouncing Back

The Ithacan has just posted the third in a series of four in-depth multimedia packages. Check out “Bouncing Back: Local Dairy Farmers Recover After Milk Prices Plummet”  by Raechel Kenealy and Laura Gallup. The first two were “Big Red Greek Policy: Cornell Makes Changes to Greek System” by Sarah McCarthy and Tori McClurg, and “Step Up Your Game: Improvements and Deficiencies in IC Athletic Facilities” by Nate March and Zachary Tomanelli.

Aaron King!

Former Opinion Editor Aaron King ’09, now a grad student at Villanova, returned to the Opinion pages of The Ithacan this week with a commentary on the longterm implications of the political  antics in Wisconsin.