Nick Bergus

A former cook, Nick loves food. But he also loves thinking about the possibilities the Web offers for compelling and innovative storytelling. Nick doesn’t want to be a food writer; he wants to explore food in multimedia. The School of Journalism and Mass Communication recognized him with a Dorothy Rubenstein Award and the Paul Conrad Scholarship in 2007. This summer, he hopes to kill a pig with his own two hands.

Jason Bradley

Jason has always wanted to write. So he left a rewarding career as an alternative medical physician specializing in women’s health concerns to join the master’s professional program in 2006. His efforts have focused on medicine, politics, religion and the areas in which those subjects intersect. Jason, who spends his free time with his wonderful wife and two amazing children, says his dream life is “to either be a best selling author or to perpetually lounge on a beach. Whichever.”

Brian Finley

Brian writes for Hawkeye Nation magazine and HawkeyeNation.com, covering Hawkeye sports and recruiting. His interests in journalism include convergence and new media.

Kyle Gassiott

Kyle is a student producer with Iowa Public Radio and former host of Weekend America: Iowa Edition. His work has been broadcast nationally on American Public Media’s Weekend America and published in The Daily Iowan. In 2007 he won an Iowa Broadcast News Award and is a recipient of the A.W. Lee Scholarship from the University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Lini Ge

Lini joined the master's professional journalism program at the University of Iowa in July 2006. One month before that, she quit her job as a radio host and journalist at Fujian Provincial Radio Station in China, where she had worked for five years. After nearly a year of study in the program, Lini says she is glad that she made the right decision coming to Iowa. In 2007, Lini won the Gazette Foundation Minority Journalism Scholarship. Her dream is that one day she can tell interesting stories to people all around the world.

Emily Grosvenor

Emily, a former Fulbright scholar, is a first-year master’s professional student interested in arts and culture reporting, green living and long-form narrative journalism. She has published travel articles, profiles, feature stories, and news shorts in The Des Moines Register, the Washington City Paper, ArtNews, and German Life. She has written a forthcoming profile in Poets & Writers magazine. Emily is a teaching assistant for the School of Journalism and Mass Communications course Media and Consumers.

Sarah Mercier

Sarah is a photojournalist. She uses her camera to explore the details that can describe individuals and cultures. Locally she is documenting senior citizen's social lives for a project called Early Bird Special. She will return to Thailand and Cambodia this summer to photograph Buddhist nuns.

Kimberly Merchant

Kim has enjoyed a career in corporate public relations, community development and publishing. In 2005, she entered the UI master’s professional program with a focus in public health. She has been the program assistant with the Iowa Gallup Award for Excellent Journalism Using Polls for its first two years. With only her final project to complete after this semester, she is looking forward to the next adventure.

Steve Silva

Steve has written about genocide tourism, biodegradable coffins and commuting between Iowa and New York City. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Cedar Rapids Gazette and others. He is also a frequent contributor to Publishers Weekly. Steve lives in Mount Vernon with his two children