Meet Our Reporters

Julia Cooper

Miami native Julia Cooper (she/her) is a fourth year Journalism student at the University of Florida. She has a passion for telling stories about marginalized communities and the environment through multimedia storytelling. For the past two years, she has worked as a reporter and producer for WUFT News. She produces and hosts daily and weekly podcasts for the station. She also reports on special projects. Julia enjoys searching for the best nature trail in North Central Florida.

Riding the waves of the week

Jan 6, 2023

The NextGen program was such a fulfilling experience for me. I got to meet and work with such talented and supportive people. Every step of the way, I had someone encouraging me, working through obstacles alongside me and teaching me new skills I’ll bring into the...

Basil Pursley

Basil Pursley (he/they) is a second-year English student at New College of Florida. Alongside their English curriculum, they practice and develop journalism skills in print and radio.

Basil currently works on the news team for WSLR, Sarasota’s community driven radio station, producing stories on policy, education, and LGBTQ+ issues. In the coming year, they will be a copy editor for New College’s student newspaper, The Catalyst.

As a child, Basil always knew they wanted to be a storyteller, with their roots being in musical theater and performing arts. Combined with a strong sense of justice, their love for storytelling coalesced into a passion for journalism.

An End and A Beginning

Jan 6, 2023

Over the better part of the last year, I have become engrossed in journalism as a skill, practice, and art form. It was always something I considered doing, but had never fallen into the passion until I finally gained the courage to step directly into the...

Ammy Sanchez

Ammy Sanchez (she/her) is a junior at Florida International University’s Honors College studying organizational communications. Her goal is to provide South Florida’s Hispanic and Latino residents an outlet to showcase their culture and voice their opinions. She is a recent intern and current freelancer at WLRN News—NPR’s South Florida member station. Previously, she was the editor-in-chief at The Reporter, Miami Dade College’s student newspaper. Her reporting for the paper won several state and national awards. Ammy is from Goiânia, Brazil and she is based in Miami.

Tapping into my creative reporting skills

Jan 6, 2023

Journalism is all about adapting and being able to rapidly learn and produce information. This week, I certainly did that. Although the person I was originally going to interview was unable to meet with me, I ended up interviewing someone who was amazing and...

Marian Summerall

Marian Summerall (she/her) is a senior at the University of Central Florida majoring in English literature and minoring in journalism and mass media communications. Through her journalism classes at the Nicholson School of Communication and Media, she has reported and written articles published by the campus news site NSM Today and the student magazine Imprint. She also covered and reported on the 2022 midterm election for the Orlando Sentinel, Central Florida’s newspaper of record. She is determined to pursue a career in journalism and wants to be a voice for her community.

Orange you glad you did NextGenRadio?

Jan 6, 2023

When I received the email that I was selected to be a part of NPR’s Next Generation Radio program, I dropped to the floor with tears of happiness. I was in the program! But it was when I lay awake at 2:30 early Wednesday morning this week that I discovered that the...

Tashie Tierney

Tashie Tierney (she/her) is a senior at the University of South Florida studying international relations. She was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and moved to Massachusetts in her youth. When she was 18, she moved to Tampa, Florida, where she resides today. Having a multinational background, Tashie has developed a deep interest in immersing herself in and learning about different cultures, which is what led to her major. She aims to tell the untold stories of people from around the world. In her free time, she expresses herself through art and music.

An Impactful Week

Jan 6, 2023

There is not a single word that I can use to sum up this week. It taught me so many things, not only on the technical side but as a human in general. There were technology-related things I learned, like Audition, audiograms, and how to actually post a tweet. I also...