Iona Students Produce Earth Day Articles for Patch

students Sarah Velez, Krista Raia and Giuseppe D'Aloisio, as part of Prof. Thomas Callahan's News Reporting class, researched and reported on Earth Day-related stories, which have been running daily since April 9.

The results of their efforts were posted on Hudson Valley Patch Web sites as part of New Rochelle Patch's ongoing PatchU collaboration with Iona College.

Senior Krista Raia, 22, of the Bronx is majoring in mass communication with an emphasis in journalism.

She said working on the Earth Day series was an amazing experience.

"From this project I found that I truly do want to make journalism my career," Raia said. "Prior to writing for Patch, I did not have any real experience interviewing or covering events for a publication. I now feel more confident in my career choice and I cannot wait to graduate and work as a full-time reporter."

Sophomore Sarah Velez, 19, of Queens, is also majoring in mass communication with an emphasis in journalism.

She said working on the project was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"These past two weeks taught me the dedication it takes to be a reporter and showed me that this [reporting] is something I want to do for the rest of my life," Velez said. "Patch was definitely the perfect place to start my work as a journalist."

Sophomore Giuseppe D'Aloisio, 20, of Eastchester—a journalism major—thought project was a wonderful learning experience, opening his eyes to the world of journalism.

"It has given me a lot of practice and has helped me become a better writer," he said. "I also got to experience working with other people in order to get a story out to the public. I was able to feel the accomplishment of being published after all my hard work, and I am truly grateful for being apart of this project."