Out of Africa

Bunmi Ishola is a graduate student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. This blog was part of a class (Interactive Storytelling). Even though the class is over, Bunmi is attempting to keep up “Out of Africa” as best as she can. Issues concerning Africa, and its Diaspora, are very important to her — as the blog hopefully shows. During the spring quarter (March-June 2008) she reported on African issues/the African community in Chicago for the Medill News Service. 

EDUCATION

MEDILL SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM, Evanston, IL  (1/2008 – Present)
Northwestern University
Master of Science in Journalism, expected December 2008
• Concentration: Magazine Publishing, Editing and Writing
• Key Courses: News Graphics & Design, Urban Newsroom Reporting

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY, College Station, TX (8/2003 – 5/2006)
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and English
GPA 3.39
• Independent Study: wrote multiple papers on cultural reporting and international news coverage.

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

Freelancer/Student Intern, The Norman Transcript, Norman, Oklahoma (8/2006 – 5/2007)
• Write local in-depth news and business features and cover local events.
• Copy-edit news pages.
• General clerical duties: answering phones, typing briefs and community news roundup, scanning letters and press releases.
• Write and edit obituaries.

Unpaid Editorial Intern, World Literature Today Magazine, Norman, Oklahoma (6/2006 – 5/2007)
• Research possible submissions and features for upcoming issues.
• Participate in issue-planning discussions.
• Compiled facts and general information, and designed sample layout for WLT Kids Africa issue.
• Conducted an interview with author Walter Dean Myers for the May/June issue.
• Proofread and typeset magazine copy.
• Assist editorial board with basic communication and organizational needs.
• Help select and edit submissions for WLT2, a student publication.
• Participated in a Magazine Editing and Publishing in the Humanities class

News Writer, Battalion Student Newspaper, College Station, Texas (9/2005 – 3/2006)
• Write weekly news features and event coverage.
• Conduct research and interviews to developed story ideas for newspaper publishing.
• Propose three to five story ideas weekly.

Contributing Writer, Shorthorn Student Newspaper, Arlington, Texas (5/2005 – 8/2005)
• Served as an open-assignment writer.
• Composed weekly articles covering campus and administrative events.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

• National Association of Black Journalists student member (2003-2006; 2008); helped edit and write articles for chapter newsletter.

SKILLS

• Conversational language skills in American Sign Language and Yoruba (Nigerian language).
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite
• Intermediate skills in Adobe InDesign
• Beginner skills in Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements

NOTE: The header picture is by babasteve. Check out his great photography of Africa and the rest of the world!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS