Authors

Anastasia Holy

Anastasia is an avid reader, writer and speaker located in Fort Collins, Colorado. She was raised in Calgary, Alberta, but moved south to be closer to family. She is the fifth-oldest child in her ever-growing family, who she talks about way too much, and is often the subject of her writing. She has loved reading since she was young, and began writing her own fiction stories in elementary school. Her writing soon developed to include poetry and creative nonfiction. She particularly specializes in creative nonfiction, which led to her pursuing journalism in post-secondary. You can often find her musings and ramblings on her Substack, where she probably spends too much time arguing and scrolling. Her work encompasses more than just her creative writing–as she can never sit still long enough to perfect one aspect of media–and is often working on many different modes of publishing. Her favorites are writing, photography, painting and investigative journalism. She is a consumer of all things good, true and beautiful. Some of her hobbies include hiking, reading, sending her friends her favorite articles (and choosing to believe they’re actually reading them), spending time with her nieces and nephews, baking sourdough, rearranging her furniture, running and finding new hobbies. Anastasia refuses to download X (formally known as Twitter), has an on-again off-again relationship with Instagram and believes Linkedin is soul-crushing, so you can best find Ana on Substack or through her email at [email protected].

Aubree Miller

Aubree Miller is a senior at Colorado State University pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and media communication with two minors in women’s studies and ethnic studies. Outside of class, Aubree spent three years as a reporter and editor for two desks at The Rocky Mountain Collegian before being named editor-in-chief of College Avenue Magazine. Aubree has also worked as a programs intern for NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists in Washington, D.C., and as an editorial intern with the Aspen Daily News in the Roaring Fork Valley. Aubree serves as president of CSU’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and founder of an NLGJA chapter on campus, and also works as a mentor for CSU’s Fostering Success Program. Aubree is dedicated to uplifting community voices whenever possible, and as a first-generation and independent student, is very proud to continue making a positive impact on the CSU and Fort Collins communities. A lifelong knack for reading and writing turned into a love of journalism and the voice it gives people. Interested in investigative reporting, Aubree is always looking for new stories to tell around the community and believes that journalism is an inherently human line of work. We must go out and meet people where they are to tell the stories that will make a positive impact on our community. Originally from the Northwoods region of Wisconsin, Aubree has lived in Colorado for 10 years, first in Aurora and later Fort Collins. When not in the field or newsroom, Aubree is probably practicing vintage hair techniques, listening to Fleetwood Mac or finding a new favorite vanilla ice cream.

Bella Stampa

Bella Stampa is a junior at Colorado State University majoring in Journalism with minors in Global Studies and Creative Writing. When reporting, her focus is on reaching an audience emotionally and ensuring an appreciation for humanity and the human experience. Her experience in journalism includes courses from CSU and a few personal blogs. After completing a high school photography class, Bella found a passion for the art , which became a hobby. Through casual iPhone Shots, , Bella captures the human experience and the small, beautiful things the eye often misses. Besides writing , she enjoys camping, hiking and being outdoors. She is a member of the Women’s Outdoor Leadership Initiative and is in the mountains on most weekends. She is also involved in competitive swimming and works as the Vice President for the CSU Swim and Dive Club. Originally from California, Bella moved to Colorado a few years ago. Her dedication to writing came from a love for novels and the imagination they sparked with creative world-building. She strives to inspire the reader with new thoughts and emotions. Words are the true windows into the human experience, and she hopes to encourage readers to always look for more. When not writing, Bella can be found spending time with friends and listening to her favorite Harry Styles song.

Bridget Killion

Bridget began her senior year at Colorado State University, double majoring in Sociology and Journalism/Media Studies. She has lived in Colorado her whole life. Bridget does not have too much experience in journalism outside of the classroom. However, over this most recent summer, she spent two months in Dublin, Ireland, working as an intern for the company, The Marketing Network Group. At The Marketing Network Group, Bridget helped with digital marketing, content creation, data organization, and company self-promotion. Bridget is unsure which direction she wants to pursue with either of her majors following graduation. She has an interest in getting better at photography, but has previously struggled with the more scientific or mathematical elements of taking pictures. Bridget enjoys reading, spending time outside, traveling, and hanging out with family, friends, and her two poodles. Her two poodles are named Cooper and Waylon (they are littermates, even though they don’t look like it). Bridget has one younger sister named Kady, who also attends CSU (Kady is currently a sophomore). In addition to the other hobbies, Bridget enjoys her passion about her Christian faith and attends events at Mountain View Community Church as often as her schedule allows. Her interests lie in crime related reporting (but not enough to commit to studying criminal justice), as well as, topics relating to traveling, spending time outdoors, and occasionally safety elements. As a member of Ramspondents, Bridget looks forward to developing her writing style while also becoming more confident in interviewing individuals.

Hebah Tiggar

Hebah Tiggar is a junior at Colorado State University, majoring in Journalism & Media Communication with a double major in English Rhetoric. Hebah comes from a North African background, with her family coming from Morocco, but she has grown up in Denver, Colorado, for a significant part of her life. With this mixture of cultures, Hebah has grown up in a bilingual family, speaking both Arabic and English. Hebah’s passion for reading quickly developed into a love of writing at a young age. In her youth, she went from reading countless books, from nonfiction, to poetry and even fantasy. However, that desire to read evolved into a desire to write, to share her opinions, to dive deeper into history, and engage the audience that those books were meant for. As a senior in high school, Hebah spent a majority of her time working a minimum wage job, but she never passed up an opportunity to aid her classmates in editing their stories for class. She worked on even inspiring them to dig deeper and when writing their college admissions essays. It was then that she decided to blend her love of the English language with her dedication to dive deeper into cultural and social events and inform the public. Despite not having an official background in journalism outside of class assignments, Hebah has an interest in sharing both the struggles and beauty of people of color in America. From articles that share the experience of first-generation students of color to in-depth analysis of representation in child media, Hebah has a dedication to using her personal background as a first-generation woman of color to not only inform, but also to create a platform for the hidden voices of minorities. Hebah is dedicated to growing her writing style and becoming more comfortable in her role as a future journalist and editor. She hopes to channel her passion into providing accurate information through creative, engaging stories focused on profiles. Everyone has a story, and Hebah wants to be the person to share them.

Jada Askew

Jeremy Garcia

Layne Morgan

Layne Morgan is a student at Colorado State University with an interest in journalism, storytelling and connecting with the community. While he doesn’t have much professional experience with journalism, he has taken plenty of classes involved with it. Morgan has a particular interest in sports and enjoys following teams, athletes and the stories that extend beyond the game. From the competitiveness and memorable moments to the fans and communities surrounding sports, he appreciates the way sports can bring people together and create stories worth sharing. Outside of sports, Morgan enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, and staying connected to what is happening in the community. He hopes to use his time in college to strengthen his writing, interviewing and reporting skills while gaining as much experience in journalism as he can. As a student journalist, Morgan is excited to explore a variety of topics, meet new people and continue developing his own voice as a writer. He looks forward to telling stories that are informative, engaging and relevant to readers while learning more about the role journalism plays in keeping communities connected.

Riley Kehn

Riley is a sophomore at Colorado State University Fort Collins. Writing is something that came to her interest very quickly. She was involved in the yearbook at her high school along with honors composition classes. She also worked around graphic design all throughout high school which all pushed toward her major in Journalism and Media. After this push she took a newswriting class at CSU where she was able to build her writing skills along with a basic communications and media in society class. Although reading wasn’t one of her favorite hobbies, she loves learning about things that are currently going on in the world politically and economically. This insight left a space to minor in political science. News reporting is the current goal for her career path after college. Writing is an important part of journalism, but the media still holds a spot in the way she writes and comes up with new ideas. Still being new to the techniques of professional journalism, she hopes to grow her skills in newswriting, interviewing and reporting altogether.

Sophie Webb

Sophie Webb is a junior at Colorado State University, majoring in journalism and media communication with a double minor in global environmental sustainability and legal studies. Besides being a reporter for Ramspondents, Webb is the editor-in-chief for The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Writing has always stood out to Webb since the third grade, when she would write short fictional stories, which eventually led her to a journalism class in high school. She began to write for the online newspaper and worked her way up to become the editor-in-chief. At the same time, she started her career at The Collegian, writing for the news, life and culture, arts and entertainment, science and sports desks. After her first semester at CSU, Webb was hired at The Collegian as the sports editor and held that role for the next three semesters before stepping up to become editor-in-chief. During her time as a sports journalist, she learned how to manage reporters while covering CSU’s biggest sports, including football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. Although Webb will miss the sports desk, she’s excited to go to more games as a student and not have to think about the angle of the recap she will write postgame. In her free time, Webb enjoys food, music and spending time with the people she loves most. During her remaining two years at CSU, she wants to get more involved — especially with the environmental side of CSU — and enjoy her time as a Ram, as these past two years have already gone by too fast.

Sara Penders

Sara Penders is a Journalism and Media Communication major and Sports Management minor at Colorado State University. Sara’s love for journalism began in high school, where she worked as the sports and senior editor for her yearbook. As her love for journalism followed Sara through college, she began working in many different areas at CSU to expand her skills, passions, and work within journalism. Surrounding sports, Sara worked as a photography intern for both the Men's Division 1 Club hockey and lacrosse teams in her second year of college, capturing game day and practice content alike. She is particularly passionate about public reactions and graphic design, hoping to do something within sports public relations with her degree. As Sara approaches her third year at CSU, she will be working with the College of Liberal Arts Dean’s Office as a Social Media Assistant and Intern, creating content, writing, and advertising within the college of liberal arts. She has also begun working on the photo desk for the Collegian, CSU’s student-run newspaper, working on their photo team to capture sports, events, and other content in the Fort Collins area. Sara has also worked in the public relations field, serving as the Director of Public Relations for CSU’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. In this, she creates graphics, videos, and content to advertise and highlight the sorority's values and opportunities. Sara is very passionate about public relations and content creation overall, having an interest specifically in multimedia storytelling, photography, and graphic design. Sara is looking forward to strengthening her skills in reporting, interviewing, and writing overall within copy editing. Sara Penders is a Journalism and Media Communication major and Sports Management minor at Colorado State University. Sara has photography experience from high school sports, as well as CSU’s men's hockey and lacrosse teams. She also has a passion for public relations, holding internships with the college of liberal arts and CSU’s sorority life.

Jalen Daugherty

Jalen Daugherty is a third-year student at Colorado State and a student in JTC 320A: General Reporting. Through the course, he hopes to develop a broader perspective on the world around him and explore stories beyond CSU’s campus. Jalen is interested in learning more about the people, communities, and experiences that often go unnoticed. He views reporting as a way to step outside of his usual surroundings, meet new people, and understand different perspectives. Rather than focusing exclusively on campus events, he wants to explore what’s happening in the broader Fort Collins community. As he develops his reporting skills, Jalen hopes to become a stronger interviewer, writer, and observer. He wants to learn how to ask better questions, find meaningful details, and tell stories in a way that gives readers a new perspective. For Jalen, JTC 320A is an opportunity to look at his surroundings through a different lens while growing as a journalist and storyteller.

Madison Szpunar

Madison Szpunar is a journalism student at Colorado State University who is passionate about TV news and broadcasting, specifically political and investigative reporting. Due to her interest in politics and national news, she is pursuing minors in legal studies and political science. She has worked in broadcast news and journalism for about 7 years now, starting as a freshman in high school in a broadcast newsroom named KRAM. Since coming to CSU, Madison has dedicated her time to Student Media, serving as an anchor for CTV as well as the promotions director. In the role as an anchor, Madison gained experience in on-desk reading and developed crisis management skills during live production, while improving my time management by balancing reporting, newsgathering, and video editing. Recently, she has also been fortunate enough to hold a position as Social Media Manager for Storypath Marketing and has learned valuable skills, such as diving into media analytics and curating social media posts for several companies across northern Colorado. One of the main reasons why Madison loves news so much is because she gets to meet new, interesting people and learn new things every day, which never gets boring. With a genuine passion for storytelling and continuous learning, she has committed to producing accurate, compelling content while building my skills in a professional news environment. She likes to go through her reporting journey with a mantra she created when she was a junior in high school, “I don't want to tell people's stories but rather help them tell their own story”.

Sophie Wilson

Sophie Wilson is a third-year Journalism and Media Communications student at Colorado State University. As a Fort Collins native, she strives to cover all aspects of local lifestyle. Her experience in journalism at Colorado State University and beyond has allowed her to explore many different kinds of media, from video to written articles to photography. Wilson has developed her skills, particularly in the photojournalism world, through local connections to community stories. Her skills in photojournalism were largely supplemented by a photo story she published in The Coloradoan in May 2026. The experience, which was part of a multi-week, behind-the-scenes documentation of a high school theater production, allowed her to understand how to better articulate the world of a journalist. Writing experience is something that Wilson has plenty of; she hopes to continue developing high-quality written pieces while learning more along the way. Using her photojournalism background, she hopes to apply what she learned to a written structure. Focusing on community and culture is something that is important to Wilson, and she hopes that she can take readers into the Fort Collins lifestyle before they have to even leave their couches. Through many forms of media, she wants to pull any important details that might go unnoticed within the City of Fort Collins and share them with the community.

Yebella Melaku

Yebella Melaku is a Political Science major and a Journalism minor at Colorado State University with a strong passion for storytelling and using media to connect with people. Her interest in journalism began in student media, where she served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of her school newspaper, The Raider Review. In that role, she helped lead a team of other student journalists by managing article assignments and editing submissions to help coordinate the newspaper’s layout and deadlines. One of her main goals was to make sure that the publication included different perspectives from her school community. This led her to earn the 2022-2023 Student Journalist of the Year award, along with a Jump-Start Media Journalist Certification. This past summer, Yebella grew her experience through an internship with the Colorado Ethiopian Community (CEC), where she worked as a social media manager and intern. Through her work with the Denver Orthodox Tewahedo Youth (DOTY), she helps build connections between Orthodox churches and the Ethiopian community across Colorado. She also helped create and promote events that gave Ethiopians of all ages an opportunity to come together and stay involved in their community. Yebella’s big interest is using journalism and media to give people a voice and help bring all different types of communities together through storytelling.

Blake Kubat

Caitlin Rose Au

Caitlin Rose Au is a second-year student at Colorado State University studying Journalism and Media Communication with a minor in Creative Writing. She has been writing stories since elementary school and fell in love with combining her passions in media production and writing as a journalist. When she isn’t writing, she can be found making short documentaries or acting in local Denver films.

Jack Randels

Jack Randels hates writing. That’s what his elementary school self would have said. A younger Randels never would have guessed that he would pursue a career in written media when he was a tantrum-throwing 6-year-old who turned his nose up at any writing assignment sent his way. Following his discovery of newswriting, Randels’ attitude toward writing completely shifted. The kid who once hated sitting down to write now welcomes any opportunity to do so, provided it’s about something he finds interesting. Randels is entering his first year as a sports editor for The Collegian and is excited to dive into the world of student media and gain more experience in the field of sports journalism. He is excited for the opportunity to further develop his skills in the field, both with The Collegian and with The Ramspondents. He also has previous journalism experience at Nest Network, the student media organization at Eaglecrest High School. If Randels isn’t working on his next story, you can find him hiking, climbing fourteeners or watching his favorite Colorado sports teams.

Jaidyn Petrovich

Jake Sherlock

Jake Sherlock is the editor of the Ramspondents and an instructor in the journalism department at CSU.

Jolynn Montiel

Jolynn Montiel is a second-year student at Colorado State University double-majoring in Journalism and Media Communication and Ethnic Studies. Since her junior year of high school, she has worked as a reporter and continued her passion for writing at the Rocky Mountain Collegian. She found an interest in communications during a summer internship with the Greeley-Evans School District Communications Department. While she loves writing, media has always drawn her attention and has since started helping with the social media for the RamCard Office at CSU and Mosaic Youth, her Church's youth program. As she continues her passion and interests, she also wants to focus on her community and spotlighting those around her.

Jonathan Halen

Jonathan Halen is a senior English major at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado with an imaginative mind and a passion for creative storytelling. He grew up in Sacramento, California, and came to CSU for a change of climate and scenery. In addition to his major, which he hopes to use to become a best-selling author, Jonathan is dual minoring in Film Studies Interdiscipline and Journalistic Reporting and Storytelling. Jonathan hopes to hone his writing craft across a myriad of genres and mediums so that he can become the best writer possible—and to help secure him a writing job that doesn’t require him to train language learning models. Outside of writing, Jonathan has a passion for playing with his two cats, connecting with his friends back in Sacramento and spending time with his partner.

Lauren Jones

Maxine Bilodeau

Taya Hernandez

Vivianna Garcia

Yebella Melaku

Yebella Melaku is a Political Science major and a Journalism minor at Colorado State University with a strong passion for storytelling and using media to connect with people. Her interest in journalism began in student media, where she served as Co-Editor-in-Chief of her school newspaper, The Raider Review. In that role, she helped lead a team of other student journalists by managing article assignments and editing submissions to help coordinate the newspaper’s layout and deadlines. One of her main goals was to make sure that the publication included different perspectives from her school community. This led her to earn the 2022-2023 Student Journalist of the Year award, along with a Jump-Start Media Journalist Certification. This past summer, Yebella grew her experience through an internship with the Colorado Ethiopian Community (CEC), where she worked as a social media manager and intern. Through her work with the Denver Orthodox Tewahedo Youth (DOTY), she helps build connections between Orthodox churches and the Ethiopian community across Colorado. She also helped create and promote events that gave Ethiopians of all ages an opportunity to come together and stay involved in their community. Yebella’s big interest is using journalism and media to give people a voice and help bring all different types of communities together through storytelling.

Brooke Imsdahl

Brooke Imsdahl is a lifelong cat enthusiast with a passion for writing, music, and video games. Excited to dive into journalism, specifically editing and reporting, she is driven by a strong sense of justice and commitment to exposing corporate malpractice. Brooke is excited to engage with the Ramspondents and contribute to the meaningful and reliable distribution of information. Having grown up throughout Colorado, from Lone Tree to Castle Rock to Fort Collins, she brings a unique perspective shaped by her diverse experiences in the state. Brooke’s background fuels her desire to connect with others through the power of words and music.

Elizabeth Musil

Lizzy Musil is a junior at Colorado State University majoring in English with concentrations in Education, Creative Writing and Literature and a minor in Journalistic Reporting and Storytelling. She is currently an intern for NoCo Press as an editor. In the past, she has served as Poetry Editor for the Greyrock Review and as a staff reporter for The Collegian during the 2025-2026 school year. She hopes to work in the book publishing industry one day but is also pursuing a back up in secondary education. In her free time, she can be found with friends, paddleboarding, rock climbing or watching a good show with her boyfriend and cat. On weekends, she works at a local pizza place with a great spicy ranch.

Colin Shea

Colin Shea is currently working as a News Anchor for CTV 11 and actively involved in student media on campus. Colin Shea is a senior year student at Colorado State University. He will be finishing up his studies in Journalism and Media Communication with a minor in Political Science. As a native Coloradoian, he was born and raised in Broomfield Colorado and lives for the outdoors. Going up in and around the mountains allowed Colin to really find his love of finding and telling stories. He loves stories about people and how he can connect stories to everyday life. Everyone has a story to tell but not everyone has someone to be that ear, Colin wants to be that ear. When Colin is not making content or going to class, you can find him in the gym playing basketball or working out. He also enjoys getting outdoors and hanging out with friends and family. Colin is looking forward to learning more about media and what it takes to be the best reporter he can possibly be out of college. He wants to continue to expand his skills and develop his reel and portfolio for future employers.

Katya Arzubi

Katya Arzubi is a third-year student at Colorado State University, double majoring in Economics and Journalism. She is currently working as a staff reporter for the Collegian, and has over a year of experience in reporting on local news, arts and entertainment, science, life and culture. She created the paper’s first economics section, where she has written about AI in the job market, prediction markets, eco-tourism, and public policy. For the 2026-2027 school year she is the ASCSU beat reporter where she informs the school’s community on policies and decisions that affect the student body. This year she also serves as the Director of Communications for CSU’s Economics Club. There she promotes the club’s events and meetings via social media and an email newsletter. Some of her hobbies include running, reading, and hanging out with her two cats.