Meet the Bangor 2020 Team: UMaine Journalism Students
Ilias Ben Malek
Hometown: Portland, ME
Minor: Psychology
Project role: Icon story, lead web site design and production
Professional goal: Public Relations
"I learned quite a bit about the city of Bangor and how I can better help businesses create and build on their image."
Sam Bonsey
Hometown: Falmouth, Maine
Minor: English
Project role: Walkable Cities
"Working on Bangor 2020 helped me build skills I will need for the rest of my career. Doing basic things, such as reaching out to people for interviews, will be important as I move towards the future.
Taylor Emhart
Hometown: Yardley, PA
Minor: Theater
Project role: Timeline, video production
Professional goal: Graduate school in Communication or public relations (crisis management)
"I learned that the history of a city paints such a dynamic portrait of present and future. To alter the progression, you need to look at so many different factors that, until now, I had never even considered."
Aubrie Howard
Hometown: Fryeburg, ME
Minor: Peace and Reconciliation Studies
Project role: Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race, photo curation
"This project has taught me how important it is to manage your time, especially with this size of a project. The research that goes into it before you can even begin actually starting the project can take a long time."
Casie James
Hometown: Belfast, ME
Minor: Child Development and Family Relations
Project role: Downtown Bangor cinema
" I learned a lot about Bangor over the course of the semester. I was unaware Bangor was known as the "Queen City" and historical events such as the Great Fire in 1911. My hope for the future is to see more involvement from the community in the arts."
Liam Nee
Hometown: Cornish, ME
Second major: Political Science
Minor: Biology
Project role: Graphic design, demographics, web site design and development
Professional goal: Work for a media organization to gain experience and return to school to pursue a Master's degree
"Working collaboratively as a team with a professional organization in a driven atmosphere helping aid efforts to improve quality of life, livability and sustainability of the region's nucleic resource center."
Jonathan Ouellette
Hometown: Caribou, ME
Minor: Psychology
Project role: Bangor 2020 narrative, copy editing, CIC
Professional goals: Sports-related reporting, PR or administrative position
"When enough people begin a conversation focused on bettering a community and a region, anything can happen. Bangor 2020 forced me to apply virtually everything I've learned about the media during my time at UMaine, and the fact that we worked so closely and collaboratively with mentors from the Bangor Daily News truly made this a unique and worthwhile experience that will benefit me regardless of the career path I choose.".
Cameron Paquette
Hometown: Greene, ME
Minor: Business Administration
Project role: WiFi and Fiber reporting, information graphic production
Professional goals: Work for a newspaper in Maine. Dream is to write for an automotive magazine.
"I've learned to think out of the box with regards to finding sources for a story. I've also learned patience, as sometimes there are many layers of people one must go through to reach a particular source. I've also learned to better use social media programs such as Twitter and have gained some experience to strengthen my new media background."
Andrew Rideout
Hometown:
Minor:
Project role: Parks reporter, Google maps, video
Andrew Stefanilo
Hometown: Sanford, ME
Minor: Business
Project role: Parks reporter, Google maps, video, data charts
Christopher Burns
Freelance Student Reporter for Bangor 2020
Hometown: Winterport, ME
Major: English & Philosophy
Project role: Bangor Icon reporter, video and photography
Professional goals: Writing for a newspaper
"I came onto the Bangor 2020 team as a freelancer in addition to my other coursework. I gained valuable insight into the power and potential of digital journalism, much of which can be done independently through the wealth of free online resources. I worked outside my milieu, which is always necessary for continued growth."
Bangor 2020 Support Team & Instruction
Tyler Quiring
CMJ M.A. Student and Teaching Assistant
Hometown: Kelowna, British Columbia
Education: B.S. in Mass Communication
Southern Adventist University (TN)
Project role: conceptual and production assistance, reporter on wi-fi/fiber story
Professional goals: Professional documentary short film production and direction, post-secondary media production education.
Jennifer Moore
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication and Journalism