Fall 2004: class bios

Laura Dunn currently works as the campaign co-manager for Dave Bruderly, who is running for the U.S. House of Representatives. Dunn has previously worked for Senator Phil Leventis (D- SC) and Governor Ernie Fletcher (R-KY). Dunn graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Clemson University in 2003. Upon graduating she moved to Gainesville, Fla., where she is currently pursuing a master’s in journalism. The topic of her thesis research involves determining how the new federal campaign finance laws, passed in December 2003, are impacting the ability of federal candidates to convey their message to the masses.

Todd Holmes was born in Greenville, TX, in June 1973. He spent his early years in Texas before moving to Pennsylvania with his mother and brother. Holmes was active in high school as he participated in sports and student government. He attended college at James Madison University where he earned a BBA in Marketing. Holmes was active while in college as he was a member of a business fraternity, a marketing association, and student government. Since college, Holmes has worked in a variety of sales positions leading up to his current employment in sales at CBS 4/ WB 10 in Gainesville.

En-Ying Lin, from Taipei, Taiwan, is a Master student in Mass Communication at the University of Florida.  During her undergraduate and graduate study in Taiwan, Lin has been a research assistant and a teaching assistant in the field of advertising creativity. After receiving her first Master degree in 2002, Lin was inspired by the global perspective to examine the relationship between media, communication and culture in the world around her, thus determined to pursue advanced studies in Mass Communication in the United States.

Kimberly A. Lopez, Orlando, received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications. As a student in the journalism department, she focused on reporting and obtained a minor in women’s studies. Lopez is now a first semester candidate in the JD/MAMC media law, joint degree program. She will begin her law studies in January. Lopez’s teaching experiences include the freshman introductory course First Year Florida. For the course, she developed activities and classroom discussions to help students adapt to college life.

Anna Paquet was born in Connecticut in 1980. However, she has spent most of her life in Miami. As an English major and Anthropology minor at the University of Miami, Paquet found a means of connecting a love of reading and writing with an interest in cross-cultural interaction, societal development and forms of expression. In 2003, she graduated from University of Miami with a B.A. in English Literature. Paquet is pursuing a master’s degree in journalism.

Elisabeth Peters is a second year journalism master’s student. She graduated with her bachelor’s degree in Communications and Theatre Arts in 2003 from Mercer University in Macon, Ga. Peters has written numerous articles for both her campus newspaper at Mercer, The Cluster, and FYI Weekly, a sports and entertainment publication in the Gainesville area. She was also copy editor of The Cluster during her final year at Mercer. She enjoys all sports and looks forward to making a career in sports information at either the collegiate or professional level, as well as further examining this field in her thesis research.

Monica Postelnicu is a doctoral student in the College of Journalism and Communications at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on computer-mediated communication, new media and use of Internet in political communication. She is the author of several papers presented to conferences such as ICA, NCA and APSA. Postelnicu teaches Web design and visual communication courses. In 2004, she received the 1st place award in AEJMC’s Best of Web competition and was elected Webmaster for the Communication and Technology Division. She received her bachelor’s degree from University of Bucharest and her master’s degree from Boston University.

Bill Renkus is a doctoral student in the telecommunications department. Renkus has an interest in researching film and television history as well as media literacy. Renkus is a teaching assistant for Dr. Julian Williams and teaches two media labs for RTV 3200, Fundamentals of Production. Renkus has worked as a tour guide for The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area and as a substitute teacher for the school district of the city of Pittsburgh. Renkus is a graduate from the University of Pittsburgh with a M.A. in Communications.

Emily Rhoades is a doctoral student in Agricultural Communications at the University of Florida. Rhoades teaches Advanced Agricultural Communication Production (AEE 4036) and is a teaching assistant for Writing for Agricultural and Natural Resources (AEE 3033). She has worked as an editorial intern and exhibit designer at The Ohio State University as well as for Seminole Feed/ec Magazine as Webmaster. Rhoades also owns Rustic Star Designs. She received a bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and a master’s from the University of Florida in Agricultural Communications. Her research interests include new media use by agricultural communicators and distance education.

David Stanton is in his second year of graduate studies in Mass Communication at the University of Florida. His research goals include media convergence and the Miami Herald in the 1980s as a hotbed for mainstream literary journalism. Stanton currently teaches the undergraduate labs for Communication on the Internet (MMC 3260). During his undergraduate years at the UF, Stanton studied journalism with a specialization in magazines. He got his start working at a now-defunct student newspaper, filling numerous positions including writer, photographer and news editor. Later, he interned as a photographer at the Lake City Reporter, in the corporate communications department of FPL Energy, and as a staff writer for Gainesville Magazine. Stanton also works as a scuba diving instructor and as a consultant for The Topps Company, a leader in sports trading cards. He holds a B.S. in journalism with an outside concentration in history. He expects to finish his graduate program in May 2005.