Meet the Illinois Student Newsroom team at IPM

Christine Herman is an independent audio editor and health journalist. She got her start in public radio at Illinois Public Media in 2015 as a founding producer for The 21st show and went on to become a reporter for IPM News, and later, the managing editor of Side Effects Public Media based at WFYI in Indianapolis. Herman serves on the board of the Association of Health Care Journalists, received the 2023 Media Award from Mental Health America and is a 2018-19 Rosalynn Carter Mental Health Journalism Fellow. She got her Ph.D. in chemistry and M.S. in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Madison Holcomb is a junior journalism major from the small town of Coal City, Illinois. She joined the Illinois Student Newsroom at the start of 2022, where she is a reporter and one of two producers responsible for peer-editing stories from other student reporters. Outside the newsroom, Madison serves as a communications intern with the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment. Previously, she interned at WGN Radio in Chicago, served as news director at the student-run radio station WPGU and wrote as a news writer for The Daily Illini, the university's independent student newspaper.

Nour Longi is a junior majoring in journalism with minors in statistics and political science from Lemont, Illinois. At the Illinois Student Newsroom, Longi s a reporter and one of two producers responsible for peer-editing stories from other student reporters. Longi also uses her reporting skills to work on Apex— a startup creating a vest with female anatomy that can be slipped over flat-chested CPR manikins to make it easier for institutions to include women in their CPR training— and conducts law research. Her favorite thing about working at IPM is that it allows her to constantly learn about the world around her. She hopes to eventually pursue a career that intersects her love for journalism and law.

Farrah Anderson is an investigative reporting fellow with the Invisible Institute and Illinois Public Media, and a journalism student at the University of Illinois. She’s worked as a reporting intern at Illinois Public Media, St. Louis Public Radio, and Wisconsin Watch. Anderson was among the first cohort of the student newsroom, starting with coverage of the 2020 election, and her work has won both local and national awards, including first place in the student spot news category of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association’s 2021 awards and recognition as one of the top 20 pieces of student journalism in the nation as determined by the Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

Elissa Eaton is a sophomore journalism student from Naperville, Illinois. She joined Illinois Student Newsroom in 2023, and she focuses on stories about student life and housing. Outside of the newsroom, Eaton is the Deputy News Director for WPGU News. She is also the events director of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority and a member of the running club at University of Illinois. Eaton is excited to see where her journalism major will take her after her time at U of I.

Stephanie Mosqueda is a junior studying journalism and double minoring in Spanish and public relations. Stephanie joined the Illinois Student Newsroom in 2023 and focuses on stories surrounding the Latino community. During the summer of 2023, she started producing IPM’s daily morning podcast, 217 Today. Outside of the newsroom, she is a TA for the UIUC Intro to Journalism course. In her free time, she is searching for the best coffee or matcha on campus.

Adelyn Mui is a freshman journalism major from Lisle, IL. She joined the Illinois Student Newsroom in 2024. Outside of the newsroom, Mui is a news correspondent and host for the student-run radio WPGU. She is also a university tour guide and a member of No Comment, an all-gender a cappella group. Mui is excited about exploring everything that the world of journalism has to offer.

Anulika Ochuba is a multimedia journalist from Illinois. She is currently studying journalism and communication at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Ochuba has a passion for reporting as well as audio and video production. In the past, she has worked as an on-air personality for four radio stations under Shaw Local Radio; she has also worked as a news correspondent for WPGU radio at the University of Illinois. Before attending UIUC, she received her A.A. degree from Illinois Valley Community College, where she played NJCAA basketball and served on the board of trustees. In her free time she enjoys watching films and crocheting.

Evans created the student newsroom in 2020 as part of a collaboration between Illinois Public Media and the University of Illinois College of Media, where he teaches multimedia journalism. From the start, the goal of the initiative has been to help U of I students learn from IPM’s professional journalists and to produce audio news segments as polished as any others that listeners might hear on National Public Radio. Prior to coming to Illinois in 2020, he served as president of College Media Association and worked for 14 years as the first student media adviser at the University of Vermont.

Fedczuk is a first-year journalism major from Chicago. He joined the Illinois Student Newsroom in 2023, covering arts, entertainment and research in Urbana-Champaign. Outside of class, he interns at the College of Media and works as Managing Editor for Reporting at the Daily Illini. To win a bet, Fedczuk plans to report for the New York Times. He will make up the rest of his plans along the way.

Reporter. Barba is a sophomore studying journalism at the University of Illinois and social media director for the student newsroom. She is also a content producer for UI in 7, part of the production team for Illini Sports Night, and a writer for WPGU News. Outside of classes, she works as an Intro to Journalism grader, providing feedback to the newest class of journalists. During her freshman year, she worked for The Daily Illini, writing for their Life and Culture section, and as a New Voices Intern for the College of Media. She is passionate about using her writing skills and position as a member of the media to uplift the voices of others, especially the Hispanic community, of which she is a proud member.

Reporter. Edwards, a sophomore from Chicago, Illinois, got her start with journalism her freshman year in Journalism 200 with professor Chris Evans.  Edwards covers campus athletics with Fighting Illini Productions on campus.  In her free time she enjoys listening to music and spending time relaxing.  Edwards aspires to land a career in the field of broadcast journalism.

Wood is a senior journalism major from the south suburbs of Chicago. They joined the Illinois Student Newsroom in January 2022 and covered the Champaign local government beat. Since then, they have joined the IPM team as producer of the 217 Today podcast. Wood has also served as the buzz Editor at The Daily Illini and is part of a weekly arts and entertainment talk show on the university’s student-run station WPGU. After graduation, they look forward to pursuing a career in public radio.

Henderson is a senior journalism major from rural southern Illinois. Though he joined the student newsroom in January 2023, he's worked with Illinois Public Media since June 2021, creating digital content for Illinois Newsroom and The 21st, as well as producing segments for The 21st. On campus, he also works as a host and the arts and entertainment editor for WPGU News and as one of the anchors for the student TV show Good Morning Illini. Previously, he worked as a Dow Jones News Fund Multiplatform Editing Intern at the San Francisco Chronicle. After graduation, Henderson plans to pursue a career in public radio.

Piper Pascarella is a sophomore journalism and political science student from Schaumburg, Illinois. She has worked for the student newsroom at Illinois Public Media since January, and has focused on social and legal issues in her time at IPM. Outside of her work for the newsroom, she works as a teaching assistant for the University of Illinois College of Media, she is involved in a professional pre-law fraternity and writes for the U of I undergraduate literary arts journal, Montage. After graduation, Pascarella hopes to work in long-form, multimedia journalism.

Salas is a first-year student majoring in journalism from Grayslake, Illinois. When she is not working with Illinois Student Newsroom, she is features editor of the Daily Illini. She is also a news correspondent and senior DJ for student radio station WPGU 107.1. She feels that producing content based on diversity is integral to making the greater Champaign-Urbana community a better place for all and hopes to draw attention to important topics through her reporting.

Antar is a senior journalism major from Naperville, Illinois. She covered social issues and non-profits for the Illinois Student Newsroom. Additionally, she is a staff writer for the university newspaper, The Daily Illini. Antar has always been passionate about finding the truth and giving a voice to the voiceless. Following graduation, she wishes to report on issues that do just that.

Reporter. Lonergan is a sophomore journalism major from Elmhurst, Illinois. In addition to her work for the Illinois Student Newsroom, she covers campus athletics as a video production assistant with Fighting Illini Productions, produces content for UI in 7, and anchors for Good Morning Illini. She is also the vice president of the University’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter. Over the summer, she worked on her radio skills as a news correspondent and host for WPGU, the university's student-run radio station. She aspires to work in broadcast journalism post-graduation..

Reporter, photographer. Richie is a sophomore from Lake in the Hills, Illinois. She is a content producer and editor for UI in 7 and on the production team for Illini Sports Night. Outside of her classes, she has done various work in journalism from covering Illinois athletics as an intern with Fighting Illini Productions to photographing and reporting for Illinois Public Media. She has written for WPGU, the student-run radio station on campus. She is passionate about what she does and can’t wait to see where her journalism degree from the University of Illinois takes her. .

Reporter. Zanca is a second-year student from Chicago. When not on the job or at school, they like to play guitar and read with their cats. They’ve been doing radio and print stories for YR media since 2020. In 2022, Zanca was part of a YR Media collaboration with the Washington Post titled “Teens on Race,” which went on to win a Gracie award. Zanca has mostly reported on social, political and environmental issues with an emphasis on storytelling. They hope to share the stories of those that have been silenced and to restore Americans’ trust in journalism.

Reporter, student producer, podcast producer, weekend news host. Garibay is a senior journalism student from Chicago. Her work produced in the student newsroom won sixth place in the 2021-2022 Hearst Journalism Awards Program in the audio/news features competition. Garibay serves as one of the senior producers who leads and mentors other students. During the summer of 2021, she was the 217 Today Podcast production intern at IPM, and she was the 2021-2022 buzz, or arts and culture, editor at The Daily Illini, the University’s student-run newspaper. She also hosts a weekly arts and entertainment talk show on the university's student-run station WPGU with fellow buzz staff members, and she tutors journalism students at the university.

Reporter, talk-show producer. Alpasan is a senior pursuing journalism and double-minoring in legal studies and informatics. Her work with Illinois Public Media started in 2019 for the statewide talkshow The 21st as a production assistant intern and then later as an engagement producer. She is the founder and president of the Asian American Journalists Association student chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Reporter. Bein is a junior majoring in Earth, Society and Environmental Sustainability, and minoring in both journalism and business. With a passion for environmental journalism, she’s working toward earning her undergraduate certificate in environmental writing. She is the 2019 Illinois High School Association state champion in the category of radio speaking. In the upcoming semester she will study abroad in Rome with a journalism-based internship and is looking forward to exploring sustainability and community far from her hometown of Wheaton, Illinois.

Reporter. Malik is a senior in journalism. She joined the Illinois Student Newsroom earlier this year and is eager to learn the art of audio journalism. In her previous years, she served as a news correspondent for the university's student-run station WPGU and has reported for the Opinions and News column at The Daily Illini. She also interned at the Mahomet Daily, covering beats ranging from political issues to local community events. Outside of experimenting with recipes and challenging her knowledge with a plethora of podcasts, she serves as a producer for the student-life style show, Good Morning Illini. She hopes to go into news production after graduation.

Reporter, talk-show producer. Qureshi is a senior journalism major from North Aurora, Illinois. Alongside Illinois Student Newsroom, she is also involved in The 21st Show at Illinois Public Media and serves as the night editor for the Daily Illini, the student-run newspaper at the University of Illinois. Her reporting has followed food insecurity and COVID-19, and she has also helped produce various segments on The 21st Show. Before moving to the Urbana-Champaign area, she was also involved with the University of Missouri's undergraduate, student-run paper The Maneater. Following graduation, she hopes to pursue work in radio journalism.

Reporter. Reyes, a first-year journalism major from Lafayette, Indiana, joined the student newsroom in the spring of 2022. During Emilio’s time in the student newsroom, he was able to get his first ever story broadcast on The 217 Today Podcast. The story was regarding the “official death of Unofficial”. Outside the newsroom, Reyes enjoys spending time with his friends and family and staying active. Following graduation, Emilio plans to obtain his masters in broadcast journalism, which he hopes will land him his dream job being on TV.