12-9-08

Media Release

OSU Student Selected for New York Times Institute

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University student Taryn Luna is one of 20 students nationwide to be selected to attend the New York Times Student Journalism Institute for members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in Miami in January.

Luna was selected to attend the 10-day program at Florida International University beginning this Jan. 2. Students were competitively selected by a panel of journalists at The New York Times from among a pool of student members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists who applied from around the country. More than 40 different colleges and universities were represented among the applicants.

Students are selected based on an essay of up to 500 words, clips or portfolios of their work, and their experience in journalism. Graduates of the Institute have interned at or now work at some of the most prestigious news organizations in the United States, including The Washington Post, the Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Boston Globe and, of course, The New York Times itself, along with many other newspapers and news organizations.

Luna was recommended by OSU New Media Communications faculty member Pam Cytrynbaum. Luna, from Dixon, Calif., is a junior majoring in New Media Communications.

“Taryn is exactly the kind of student who will thrive in the Times’ program,” Cytrynbaum said. “It is especially an honor for her to be selected because she isn’t coming from a traditional journalism program, but from our New Media program.”

Students at the institute work with veteran journalists from The Times, The Boston Globe and the Times Company's regional newspapers in a newsroom environment. Participating students have covered presidential speeches and campaign events, the funeral of a famous mob leader, issues such as immigration, and dozens of other stories.

In keeping with her New Media Communications student status, Luna has written online about her experience of being chosen and will comment via her blog from Miami.

“I honestly didn’t think this kind of opportunity would be possible,” Luna said. “The experience of working one-on-one with a professional in the journalism field is what I'm most excited for. I'm hoping this opportunity will show me what aspects of my writing need to improve in order for me to reach the professional level.”

For more information on New Media Communications, go to: http://oregonstate.edu/cla/nmc/ http://oregonstate.edu/cla/nmc/