Mass communication student Ivanna Tucker brought so many fresh ideas to her first day of class that the school newspaper editor tapped her to be features editor for the Linfield Review, a high-level editing position rarely held by a freshman, said The Portland Observer.
Tucker was also the only freshman to be voted to the executive council of her sorority.
“It’s a small school, so you can sometimes work your way up fairly quickly,” she says.
Tucker’s gregariousness means she likes interviewing perfect strangers, and because communication comes naturally to her, one of her goals as a writer is to make sure other voices are heard.
She also aspires to write about small issues that relate back to larger issues, and to focus on positive news. “You can’t fluff away war or childhood hunger,” she says, “but there are also a lot of people who are actually enjoying their lives. I want to tell those stories as well.”
“Ivanna has a lot of innovative ideas,” says Brad Thompson, a mass communication professor at Linfield College. “She doesn’t think in terms of long, drawn-out stories, but breaks up features into modules that combine narrative, images, sidebars and snippets of information. She sees the whole picture.”
“Journalism is in an exciting place right now,” Tucker said. “It’s changing, and there are opportunities to enhance print journalism and connect with new, younger audiences.”
