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.

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.

Holcomb is a sophomore journalism major from the small town of Coal City, Illinois. She joined the Illinois Student Newsroom at the start of 2022. Outside of the newsroom, Holcomb serves as news director for the student-run station WPGU and has been a news staff writer for The Daily Illini, the university’s independent student newspaper. She is also a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Longi is a sophomore majoring in journalism and minoring in political science from Lemont, Illinois. When she is not writing articles for the Illinois Student Newsroom, she is working as a project manager Apex, a project with Illinois Enactus that aims to close the gender CPR-gap. She also uses her journalism skills to write on legal matters she is passionate about for the Undergraduate Law Review. She wants to use the skills she develops in her journalism classes and at IPM to bring awareness to issues she cares about. She wants to pursue a career in the intersection between law and journalism.

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.

Pascarella is a freshman journalism major from Schaumburg, Illinois. She joined the Illinois Student Newsroom in 2023 with a focus on social issues and non-profits. Outside of her work for IPM, she works as a TA for Professor Chris Evans’ Introduction to Journalism class, and is a Law and Dialogue Ambassador Intern for the Tolerance Means Dialogue program. Pascarella has a passion for political and social issues and is pursuing minor courses of study in political science and english. She plans to attend law school following her time at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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.

Eaton is a first-year journalism major from Naperville, Illinois. She joined Illinois Student Newsroom in 2023, and she focuses on stories about crime and policing. Outside of the newsroom, Eaton is a TA for Intro to Journalism and works as a news correspondent and host for WPGU News. She is also an active member of the University of Illinois chapter of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, where she holds two chair positions. Eaton is excited to see where her journalism degree takes her after her time at University of Illinois.

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.

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 host/producer. Anderson, a sophomore journalism major from Danville, Illinois, holds multiple positions at IPM. In addition to serving as a mentor and producer to newer reporters in the student newsroom, she serves as host and producer of the daily IPM podcast, 217 Today. She 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.

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.