Archive for ‘Portfolio Category’

Click here to check out my article about GrooveShark on page 36.

Click here to check out the article that I co-wrote in Florence, Italy for the Independent Florida Alligator or read it below.

After two days, white smoke from the Sistine Chapel signaled the end of the search for a new pope.

On Wednesday, members of the College of Cardinals selected Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 76, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to be the 266th pontiff and lead the Roman Catholic Church under his new name, Pope Francis I.

Thousands of people packed into St. Peter’s Square to see Pope Francis address the world for the first time.

Rebecca Drescher, a 20-year-old UF English junior who is studying abroad in Rome, said she had to act fast to make it through the sea of waving flags and umbrellas to capture pictures of the historical moment.

“It stopped raining when the pope came out,” she said. “He addressed the Roman people and everyone cheered ‘Francesco!’ over and over. Everyone was extremely emotional and excited. It was the coolest thing, being a part of history.”

Francis is the first cardinal from the Americas to be elected pope and the first non-European to lead the church in at least 1,200 years. He succeeds Benedict XVI, the pope emeritus, who announced his resignation last month.

In Gainesville, Manuel Vasquez, professor and chairman of the UF College of Religion, said the election acted as a shift in the Catholic world.

“It’s a recognition that most growth is in the south, particularly in Africa, South America and Asia,” he said.

Francis is also the first pope from the Jesuit order.

Despite Francis’ age, Vasquez said he expects the new pope to lean toward reform.

“[The Jesuits] have a long history of being innovators in the church,” Vasquez added. “And along with that comes controversy also.”

Gonzalo Girado, a 22-year-old UF mechanical engineering senior and president of the Argentine Student Association, said he was proud an Argentine was selected pope.

“It shows the church is more diverse and how Latin American society as a whole is making a movement,” he said.

Luke DeHon, a 20-year-old UF economics junior and Catholic Gators member, said he will support Pope Francis because of his views and his alignment with church doctrine.

“[Francis] teaches what Christ taught, and he reflects a lot of what youth want, including a strong foundation,” DeHon said.

Click here and turn to page 15 to view the article.

Click here to find my article about Project Mascot on page 52.

Click here to check out my article about Olympic swimmer Peter Vanderkaay on page 40.

This article was written for The Noise issue of Orange and Blue Magazine.

Click here to be taken to the issue and find the article on page 15.

Click here to go to the clip from the Independent Florida Alligator or read it below.

The chief strategist of President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign and the chairman of the Florida Democratic Party encouraged students to re-elect the president at a rally Wednesday night.

At the Greater Together Youth Summit, strategist David Axelrod, party Chairman Rod Smith and a panel of speakers rallied students to vote. UF College Democrats President Erin Murphy also sat on the panel.

The summit kicked off the Gators for Obama organization. Panelists, students and party supporters discussed Obama’s expansion of Federal Pell Grants for college students and his changes to health care coverage.

Gainesville resident Ian Blake, 28, is passionate about the party but disagrees with how its leaders come across.

“Axelrod is a policy wonk and has an issue articulating a message,” he said.

Civil engineering sophomore Andres Llano, 20, said he was not expecting much before he came.

“I didn’t really know what it was about,” he said. “But I like what the Democrats stand for, especially since I’m an immigrant.”