Staff

Angelica Spanos is no stranger to a fast-paced lifestyle. Growing up in Falls Church, Va., she spent her childhood juggling soccer practices, games, dance classes, and rigorous academics, but now she’s tackling the fast-paced world of journalism.

Ayza Omar took a roundabout route to the world of journalism.  A native of Lahore, Pakistan, Omar graduated from that country’s Punjab University with a bachelor’s degree in finance.  She says she’s always seen herself as an entrepreneur, and could easily have joined her family’s wholesale upholstery business, but first she wanted  to do something on her own.

Chao Deng was born in China but moved to England with her family when she was three years old. At age eight, she moved to the United States. Deng grew up in Newton, Mass. and graduated in May of 2009 from Brown University, where she double majored in economics and neuroscience.

Courtney Streett is determined, spontaneous, and is an activist. Streett embodies these characteristics in her personal and professional life, whether covering issues of diversity in her beat, Fort Greene and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn, or bringing NYCinFocus the latest story. Prior to her current reporting, Streett interned twice for WBZ-TV, the CBS affiliate station in Boston. There, she worked at the assignment desk and in special events.

Danielle Bengsch was born in Munich, Germany and raised in Frankfurt. After high school, she dreamed of becoming a doctor and attended medical school for one year at Leipzig University. While studying medicine, she discovered another way she could change people’s lives: through writing. So she switched majors and decided to pursue a career in journalism.

David Collins, born in Davenport, Iowa, is the youngest of seven children. After majoring in political science and philosophy at Cornell College in Iowa, Collins moved to Japan to teach English in 1986. Speaking almost no Japanese and being the only foreigner in a small northern town on the main island was a two-year adventure for Collins.

Diàna Markosian dreamed of becoming a professional ballet dancer until an injury intervened. Fortunately, journalism was there to pick up the slack and she soon realized that she felt just as passionate about telling stories and working in the field.

Dunia Kamal is a Palestinian American living in New York City. She studied Arabic literature and journalism at Birzeit University in the West Bank. She then transferred to George Mason University where she studied Communication and Business. Kamal worked at the Middle East Broadcasting Networks in documentary acquisition and program scheduling. Kamal is a broadcast student at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.

Janelle Richards’ path to becoming a journalist began in the ninth grade, when she got her first hands-on experience in a high school television production class. Her high school experience was the beginning of what she hopes will be a career that lands her in a network television producing and reporting role.

Jenn Carmona discovered her love of writing in second grade. When her class progressed from basic sentence structure to paragraphs, she saw endless possibilities for stories. Her teacher, Mrs. Fanurakis, saw a budding fiction writer and encouraged Carmona to pursue literature. Carmona’s natural curiosity eventually drew her toward journalism.

Kirk Klocke has wide-ranging interests, and that’s one reason he practices journalism. For him, reporting offers the chance to learn something new every day and the opportunity to meet interesting people; having something to show for his efforts is another aspect of the business he likes.

Leonard Schoenberger, or Leo, as his friends call him, was born and raised in Munich, Germany. He is concentrating his M.S. in broadcast at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.  He aspires to be a sports journalist.

Maria Del Mar Cabra Valero will be more than happy to explain her name to you. She will tell you that Maria Del Mar means “Mary of the Sea” and Cabra means “goat” in Spanish. And at the end of this energetic monologue, as if almost reading your mind, she will say, “But you can call me Mar.”

Sanaz Meshkinpour was born in Tehran, Iran, and moved to the United States with her parents and older sister when she was five years old.  Meshkinpour grew up in Orange Country, Cal., and attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied political science with a focus in international relations and the Middle East.

Shreeya Sinha has been on a journey of new experiences, new friendships, and a new way of looking at the world. Born in New Delhi, India, Sinha has spent a good part of her life moving. She has lived in Nigeria, Zimbabwe and Vietnam. One of her more intimate experiences came out of Zimbabwe, where she spent six-and-a-half  years, the longest Sinha has lived in one location. She fondly remembers the Zimbabwe she knew and loved before it fell from opportunity into poverty.

Thad Novak was exposed to journalism at a young age, as his father was an editor and movie critic for People magazine. Despite this early exposure, Novak didn’t have journalism in his sights as a student. He got a Bachelor of Science degree in English and molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University, then he attained a doctorate in biochemistry and molecular biology from the University of Chicago.