Ariana Bennett is a third-year journalism and political science student from northern Maryland who now calls Boston home. Her interests are in covering culture, the environment and the LGBTQIA+ community. Ariana spent a semester working with the Cairo Review of Global Affairs in Egypt, reporting on a variety of issues including Syrian-Lebanese relations, climate change and Egyptian domestic affairs. She has traveled most recently to Jordan and Turkey. In her (limited) free time, she can be found working at a local coffee shop, saving for her next adventure.
Twitter: @ArianaJBennett
Yingyi Chen is a graduate student from the School of Journalism. Born and raised in China, she has traveled extensively and attended Taiwan ShihHsin University as an exchange student. She writes, loves photography and is passionate about journalism. Her latest intern experience was in Guizhou Today Convergent Media Group, where she ran social media for the department and proofread articles for their magazine. She also worked for Guizhou Agricultural & Economic Media Information Limited. In the future, she aspires to be an editor for fashion magazines.
Instagram: @syoujyowillglow
Lucas Cooperman is a third-year media and screen studies and journalism major raised in Montclair, New Jersey. Lucas spent his first semester at Northeastern studying at the University of Sydney, Australia. Lucas has written, edited and produced content for NowThis News, The Huntington News, Baristanet, Tastemakers Magazine and Abt Associates and is currently the communications director for Artistry Magazine. He hopes to continue learning and sharing stories with the world. In his free time, Lucas drums in a band, watches lots of movies and plays pickup basketball.
LinkedIn: Lucas Cooperman
Xinyue (Crescent) Huang is a second-year undergraduate journalism and political science student at Northeastern University. While studying in middle and high school in the U.S., she gradually formed an interest in reporting on stories that have traditionally been ignored. These interests led her to choose journalism and political science in college. She also writes for The Huntington News as a news correspondent.
Twitter: @CrescentHuang
Sofie Kato is a fourth-year journalism major with minors in criminal justice and psychology. Originally from Southern California, she has found new and expansive ways to tell stories and hopes to continue to learn as much as she can. She found her niche in production by working for Adolescent, a motion graphics company in NYC, and explored what film can do through video work with Northeastern’s D’Amore McKim School of Business.
LinkedIn: Sofia Kato
Desmond LaFave is a third-year journalism and media and screen studies combined major. He is interested in understanding and adapting the methods of traditional video production to tell compelling human-centered stories. In addition to serving as an editor of Northeastern University’s Tastemakers Music Magazine, he has recently worked at Boston City TV, broadcasting city government events and meetings. In the future, Desmond hopes to create impactful video journalism and documentaries from around the world. During his free time, he enjoys going to concerts and watching basketball.
Twitter: @desmondlafave
Greta Magendantz is a first-year journalism and political science major who has worked for local political candidates and The Connecticut Democratic Party. Greta has also freelanced for Boston’s Very Local News of the Hearst Corporation. She’s written for on-campus publications including The Huntington News and Northeastern’s chapter of Her Campus. Greta’s interest in politics and social justice issues motivates her selection of stories. This year, she has covered topics from the Boston mayoral race to racial injustice and policing to MBTA safety.
Sophia Paffenroth is a graduate student at Northeastern’s School of Journalism. With a background in liberal arts, she has a passion for enduring stories that illuminate, elevate and connect. She specializes in feature stories, multimedia storytelling and especially documentary work. She currently works as an assistant editor at the Boston Scope. Traveling to new places, reading novels and sharing good food with friends and family are among her favorite things.
Twitter: @SophiaVRoth
Kenneal Patterson is a fourth-year student and a proud Coloradoan. Growing up in nature made her passionate about the environment, which developed into a love for storytelling as she began to chronicle the world around her. Currently, she works at The Boston Calendar; she also contributes freelance to publications around the city and to the music magazine Tastemakers. In the past, Kenneal served as the campus editor for The Huntington News and a staff writer for The Bay State Banner, where she documented historic events within local communities. She has minors in global health and English and a deep reverence for the arts.
Eamonn Ryan is a second-year journalism major with minors in data science and sports, media and communication. From Hooksett, New Hampshire, he served as editor-in-chief of his high school paper, The Little Green, and also discovered his passion for sports writing and general reporting. At Northeastern, he has served as a sports editor and beat writer for The Huntington News. Most recently, he completed a six-month co-op as a communications assistant for Northeastern Athletics. In the future, he aspires to work in the sports media world as either a journalist or information specialist and can often be found cheering on Northeastern or Boston-area sports teams.
Twitter: @eamonn_ryan41
Mihiro Shimano, from Tokyo, Japan, is a third-year political science and international affairs major with a minor in journalism. At Northeastern, she joined The Huntington News, serving several editor roles before joining Boston.com as an editorial intern, where she covered local Boston news. Mihiro sees reporting as a challenge to engage with new people, new places and gain an understanding of the world around her. In her free time, she can be found in the gym powerlifting or at home watching legal drama.
Twitter: @MihiroShimano
Zoë Sommers is a fourth-year journalism student from Arizona. During her time at Northeastern, she has been a contributor at WRBB Radio, writing show and album reviews. She also hosts a weekly radio show, interviewing fellow writers. Zoë is passionate about journalism as an avenue for robust storytelling. After graduation, she plans to stay in Boston and work in book marketing.
LinkedIn: Zoë Sommers
Lauren Thomas is a third-year journalism student with a passion for sports reporting, analytical writing and storytelling for social impact. Originally from Corning, New York, Lauren is currently working as a sportswriter and copy editor for The Huntington News, while also writing and editing for Storybench, Northeastern’s online data visualization publication. Lauren is interested in all fields of journalism, but is specifically looking to expand her experience in sports, politics and pop culture issues.
Twitter: @lauren_thomas30
Xinyun (Jessie) Wang was born and raised in Beijing. She is a film and food critic and a fervent sports fan. She was a writer for Pepperdine Graphic Media, where she earned a master’s degree in TESOL. She is currently a graduate student at Northeastern majoring in media advocacy. She is a contributor for The Global Observer and The Scope.
Instagram: @jessiewangxy
Matthew (Matty) Wasserman is a first-year journalism student from Chappaqua, New York. Matty grew up an avid sports fan. He got his start in journalism covering high school sports teams, and now broadcasts and writes about Northeastern Hockey for WRBB Sports, where he will serve as editor-in-chief for the ’22/’23 year. He also works as a freelance news editor for the Boston Herald, where he helps design and edit the print edition news section.
Twitter: @matty_wasserman
Amaya Williams, born and raised in New York, is a fourth-year journalism student with a minor in film production. While at Northeastern, she reported on the arts, culture and environmental movements and became fascinated with multimedia journalism. She’s worked at WGBH’s arts program “Open Studio with Jared Bowen,” NBC News’ true-crime show “Dateline,” and CNN’s HLN Network and hopes to continue with a career in documentary filmmaking. When she’s not hiking or cooking, she can be found logging films onto Letterboxd.
LinkedIn: Amaya Williams
Samantha Zagha is a first-year student pursuing a communications major with minors in journalism, public relations and psychology. Originally from the Bay Area, Samantha served as the athletic photographer for her high school, ran her own freelance portraiture business and held photojournalism internships at The Plaid Horse Magazine and The Los Altos Town Crier. She now photographs for The Red and Black, Northeastern’s athletic magazine. Samantha participated in Northeastern’s NUin program in Rome and is now excited to further explore the world with her camera by her side. Outside of academics, Samantha rides horses and listens to podcasts.
ZACH BEN-AMOTS is the teaching assistant and web designer for Beyond the Canal. He is a graduate of Northeastern University, where he received his Master of Arts in journalism in 2018. Prior to that, Ben-Amots completed his undergraduate studies in film and video at Lawrence University. Ben-Amots is a documentary filmmaker and journalist; he has a special interest in covering micro-cultures with unique, regional identities. Prior to joining the project in Panama, he worked as a producer at ABC 7 Chicago, one of the largest local TV newsrooms in the country. He has won a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Documentary and a best videography Silver Dome award, from the Illinois Press Broadcasters Association.