Authors

Patrick Spano is a freelance writer and ESL English teacher born and raised in Tampa, FL with Bachelor’s degrees in Spanish and Political Science from King University in Bristol, TN. Apart from writing and teaching, he coaches wrestling and Muay Thai, Jiu Jitsu, and MMA. He also wrote a novela called White American BETA Male that you can find on Amazon. You can follow him on Instagram @pbspano.

Meg Cox is a graduating senior at the University of Tampa pursuing a degree in communications, public relations, and advertising. Originally from the Boston area, her dream job is to work in sports or fashion PR and eventually own her own company. Meg also co-manages the social media pages for 83 Degrees Media and currently works as a public relations intern in Massey Law Group’s St. Pete office. Meg enjoys going to the beach, spending time with friends, and learning about astrology - - if you catch her at the right time, she will tell you all about your star sign. 

Austen Prager is a senior at USF majoring in Broadcast News. He works for USF football as a student assistant in the video department. He also works for both the NFL and NHL in their live content department. He grew up in Ft. Lauderdale but he has lived in Tampa for close to 7 years. His goal is to be a video coordinator of an NFL team. In his free time, Austen enjoys playing videogames competitively and watching sports.

Sian Donovan is a senior at the USF Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications. She shares: “Fun fact: I was born in the U.S. Virgin Islands but moved to Florida when I was about 6, so, sadly, I have no accent. Traveling and learning new customs is something I love to do. So far, I have been to 26 different countries. Something about meeting people and learning how they view life or what they deem as sentimental is very interesting. … In my free time I run my blog called What’s the Tea 20 where I cover celebrity news and trending topics. My daily goal is to put a smile on someone’s face and to learn as much as possible. However, my long-term goal is to become an entertainment journalist.”

Siham Kharfan is an undergraduate student of Broadcast Media and International Relations at USF. She was born in Miami, FL and raised in several cities, including Tampa, Oklahoma City, and Beirut. Her goal is to be accepted into law school by 2022. In her free time, she enjoys writing and playing chess.

David P. Rose is a 22-year-old Mass Communications student at USF graduating this Fall. He shares: "I’ve lived in the Tampa Bay Area my entire life and have always been fascinated by the history of our city. Through my tenure at USF, I developed a passion for all aspects of storytelling across all mediums. I am excited to extend my skills gained from being a member of the East Tampa project team at 83 Degrees Media.”

Hanna Toeniskoetter is an undergraduate student at the University of South Florida. She is currently majoring in Public Relations and Advertising, while minoring in Psychology. Her goal eventually would be to pursue a graduate program at the University, and use her creativity and design ideas to one day help companies grow and maintain their branding. Toeniskoetter also works part-time as a photographer’s assistant. She manages webpages, social media, and client communication. This allows her to "express her creativity in a productive way,” as she says. She also enjoys time with her family and friends, and in her free time, she enjoys painting and writing.

USF student Zachary Wooten was born and raised in Tampa. He shares, “My goals are to graduate this semester and start my YouTube channel. My major is in mass communications focusing on broadcast and production. I love listening to music and I am a huge sports fan. I am motivated to graduate since I will be the last of my siblings to get a bachelor’s degree.”

Wayne Garcia is a journalism instructor and former director of the Zimmerman School of Advertising & Mass Communications at USF Tampa. His background is in political and investigative journalism. He worked for the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Tribune, Creative Loafing, and Gainesville Sun newspapers. He is the 2009 recipient of the Irene Miller Vigilance in Journalism Award from the Pinellas Chapter of the ACLU.

Emily Cortes, a Massachusetts native, is a recent graduate of the University of Tampa. She will be continuing her education at UT, seeking a Master’s degree in Professional Communication. Emily has published many opinion editorials for the school newspaper, The Minaret, and enjoys reading and writing about political theory, popular culture, reality television, and entertainment. After earning her master’s, Emily plans to continue her education in law school with a focus on constitutional law. When she’s not writing or studying, you can almost always find her binge watching her favorite reality TV shows and documentaries.

Kurt Loft is a St. Petersburg-based freelance writer with 40 years of experience covering the arts, science, food, and features as a journalist. He writes program notes and blogs for The Florida Orchestra and Bach Festival of Winter Park, stories for Creative Pinellas' online magazine, and science and health stories for Tampa General Hospital and the University of South Florida. After 27 years as a reporter for The Tampa Tribune, Loft worked for 12 years as a lead editor and senior writer at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Now retired, his hobbies include cooking, bicycling, World War II history, and managing a large classical record collection.

Carole Devillers’ career as a freelance photojournalist spans four decades spent in West Africa, Haiti, New Mexico, and Florida, where she currently lives in Tampa. She has several National Geographic articles to her credit as well as images in numerous national and international publications. As a Reuters News Pictures photo correspondent in Haiti, she spent 10 years recording the political unrest of that country, which led her to be shot at (they missed), to be held at gunpoint, and to have film confiscated. She is the author of more than a dozen children's photo books on Haiti and on caving (a favorite hobby for her). In Florida, she fell in love with birds, which resulted in her photo book, "Glimpses of Iconic Birds of Florida," and in her becoming a volunteer bird steward for Audubon Florida. She is represented in the book “Women Photographers at National Geographic” and lives by Helen Keller’s quote “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.” Learn more about Devillers and her work.

Yvette C. Hammett, a native Floridian and a graduate of the University of Florida, has spent much of her career as a professional journalist covering business, the environment, and local features throughout the Tampa Bay Area. She is an avid camper and outdoors person who has also been involved in local events for foster children and the elderly.

Dr. S. Aaron Laden, M.D., is a general pathologist in Tampa, FL with over 40 years of experience in the medical field. But ever since he was a young boy, he has been drawing for family, friends, and just plain fun. "I developed my admittedly limited techniques over many years spent doodling in class. To this habit, I attribute whatever academic success I may have had -- I never got into trouble, unlike the spit-ballers and the whisperers,'' Laden says. "My cartoons are drawn for fun, largely from everyday vicissitudes of life.''

Angela Cordoba Perez is studying mass communications with a focus in journalism at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Growing up in Colombia, she developed an interest in writing and decided to pursue her dreams as a journalist. She has interned at WUSF Public Media and has written for the USF Oracle, the student newspaper. Even though she misses the mountain views in her home country, she is happy to use her diverse voice to tell stories about USF and the Tampa Bay Area. In her free time, she enjoys watching soccer and television, as well as calling her family and spending time with her friends.