Our priorities in a pandemic have ways of evolving, particularly when it’s imperative to socially distance. Indeed, it’s diametrically opposed to what we do — an alumni association is, after all, about bringing people together.
But thankfully (with fingers crossed), life is gradually returning to normal, albeit a new one. As you will learn in this newsletter, many of you have begun to re-engage, by returning to this alumni network. You came back to UCLA for a reunion, you set fundraising records for the DB Scholarship Fund, and you are back to teaching and mentoring DB staffers, who are restarting the printing presses after 18 months away from Westwood.
As we head into 2022, DBAN is resolved to provide opportunities for you to become more engaged and involved with the network. Whether it’s mentoring, fundraising or planning the next DBAN Reunion, we welcome all of you to join us and carry on the work of building DBAN, in support of each other, the current generation of staffers and the paper we all love.
Happy holidays and thank you again,
Lawrence Ma ’95 (Sports)
President, Daily Bruin Alumni Network
Reunited Again
Our October reunion successfully injected new life into the Daily Bruin Alumni Network after a year of remote events. The day began with the inaugural edition of “DB 101,” led by Laureen Lazarovici ’89, Jeong Park ’17, Alice Short ’77 and Paul Signorelli ’76. The interactive session gave students an opportunity to learn how DB alumni have applied lessons learned at The Bruin to a variety of careers. Watch the valuable lessons learned here.
Following refreshments and looking up old clips in the newsroom archives, another favorite tradition of the DBAN reunions returned — “The State of The Bruin,” where we learn from current senior management how the paper is doing. DBAN board member and former editor-in-chief Cuauhtemoc Ortega ’03 moderated a discussion on how the Daily Bruin dealt with pandemic operations and how it’s handling the transition to in-person production.
The panel gave way to a reception at the Grand Salon of Kerckhoff Hall, a nostalgic location for those who worked in the newsroom there in the 1990s. Students networked with alumni and DBAN honored Martin Kasindorf ’60 as the 2021 Distinguished Alumnus. An avid filmmaker in retirement, Kasindorf and his wife produced a YouTube video of his wonderful speech, recapping his 44 decorated years in journalism and inspiring the next generation in the room — it is well worth your time; watch it here.
Importantly, we also honored our 2021-22 Daily Bruin Scholarship recipients. DBAN dedicated one scholarship in memory of Dave McNary ’74, the legendary entertainment reporter who passed away last December. McNary’s classmate and DBAN Board Member Ken Peterson ’74 offered a remembrance and introduced Noah Danesh ’22 as the first recipient of the Dave McNary Scholarship and speaker on behalf of the scholars.
The 2021 DBANxSpark Scholarship Campaign was a spectacular success, as we raised a single-year record of $17,635 for the Daily Bruin Scholarship Program! A record 130 donors from across the country joined forces to smash through our annual goal of $10,000 – and a stretch goal of $15,000 – in less than one month.
Kudos to DB alumni Robina Riccitiello ’84 and Missy Anderson ’97, who led our Spark Ambassadors in engagements and raised over $4,200 between them. A round of applause as well for our DB Outreach Director Kari Lau and the student-staffers who contributed graphics, videos and social% media. We are grateful to friends and family of former DBAN board member Dave McNary ’74, for whom we will once again dedicate one of the 2022-23 DB scholarships.
Those still looking to donate can give to the Daily Bruin Program Support Fund, which accepts tax-deductible, employer-matched gifts for general support of the Daily Bruin.
A Revived Newsroom
This fall, the Daily Bruin newsroom bloomed with life again thanks to staffers’ return and the interior design revamp — which comes thanks to $10,000 that alumni raised two years ago.
With many plants, a gallery of staffers’ photos, new equipment and a moss wall, the newsroom was a pleasant introduction to the Daily Bruin for interns. Unfortunately, windows have yet to be installed.
Critique the Daily Bruin
Enjoy reading the Daily Bruin and keeping up with UCLA news? Then pick a day to read The Bruin and offer up your thoughts to the students on what’s great and what could be improved. They like getting our feedback (really!) and it’s an easy way to give back. You'll get an email before your shift with more details. Sign up here.
Podcasting 101
For our quarterly training session, Kate Parkinson-Morgan ’14 showed her passion for podcasting during an hourlong discussion about how to dream up, execute and promote a podcast. Parkinson-Morgan dispelled the notion that all it takes to produce a podcast is hitting play on an off-the-cuff conversation. We learned that to create a successful product, it takes deep preparation and research, the right editing tools and casting a wide net to find an audience. You can catch her informative session here.
Get Involved
DBAN needs your help in supporting and encouraging current students as they prepare to carry their skills into our ever-evolving workplace!
We’re expanding our mentoring programs to restore more professional advising and career guidance with the considerable resources of the alumni ranks. A group of DBAN members has been meeting via Zoom biweekly (Mondays, 2-2:45 p.m. PT) to develop workshops for Daily Bruin staff members and alumni; the result was the DB 101 seminar presented at the 2021 DBAN Reunion.
The current goal is to offer three more workshops this academic year, and then develop a full set of monthly offerings for the 2022-2023 academic year. We are also creating a pilot one-on-one mentoring program from student-staffers pursuing careers in journalism.
We want and need more volunteers willing to spend a couple of hours per month to design, develop and deliver these opportunities. To learn more and contribute your expertise, please contact Paul Signorelli at paul@paulsignorelli.com. We’re looking forward to making a positive difference for current students and any DB alumni who are interested in learning with us.
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