The UF College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Department of Journalism is hosting three recent grads during the Spring 2019 semester as part of its ongoing Young Alumni Bootcamp series. The visitors will offer a limited enrollment intensive “bootcamp” course on a specialized topic for students and guest speak in UFCJC classes and with faculty during their day-and-a-half visit in Gainesville.

The spring 2019 class includes:

• Andrew Briz,  news developer at POLITICO: Andrew Briz, B.S. Telecommunication 2018, creates web pages, platforms, and applications for the creation and distribution of media. While studying at the University of Florida, he worked briefly as a producer at WUFT in Gainesville, before switching to news development at the station where he was awarded an Excellence in Innovative Technology award by the National Association of Broadcasters. He has interned at WCPO in Cincinnati and the Los Angeles Times, mostly developing tools like story-builders and Slack-powered live chats. At POLITICO, he’s worked on databases of fake news and tools to look at Congressional elections, including election day results. When he’s not coding, Andrew is enjoying the saccharine swells of Ariana Grande or creating an enthralling conquest for his Dungeons and Dragons group to encounter.
• Ayana Lage, social media influencer: Ayana Lage, B.S. Journalism 2015, is a digital marketing specialist, freelance writer and lifestyle blogger based in Tampa, Florida. She graduated from the University of Florida with highest honors in 2015 and previously worked at the Tampa Bay Times and Miami Herald, as well as Bustle, an online women’s magazine. She’s currently the digital content manager at Global Widget, a health and wellness brand, overseeing SEO strategy and content planning.
• Aundre Larrow, a Brooklyn-based photographer and 2017-18 Adobe Creative Resident: On his fifteenth birthday, Aundre Larrow, B.S. Journalism 2013,  received a Minolta film camera from his high school theater teacher as a gift. Within 3 months, he had blown all of his money processing film filled with portraits of fast friends and loved ones. Ten years later, not much has changed. He has spent the last few years shooting editorial and lifestyle content for his clients. He most recently shot the NCAA Tournament, NY Fashion Week and a portrait project about immigration. Some clients include: Adobe, CNN, American Express, Walker and Company, Samsung, Levi’s Commuter, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Moment Lens, ONA Bags, Ministry of Supply, Bleacher Report, Mack Weldon and the University of Florida Athletic Association.

Launched in the 2017-18 academic year, the Young Alumni Bootcamp series is designed to bring contemporary field perspective to our students and faculty and to help reinforce and introduce topics that have not yet become core components of our curriculum.

The series is sponsored by the Hugh Cunningham Fund for Journalism Excellence.

Previous alumni visitors have included The Washington Post’s John Woodrow Cox, Bustle’s Olivia Muenter and Ashley Ross, formerly of TIME. Series speakers are selected from a pool of candidates nominated by the journalism faculty.

The series webpage can be found here.

Posted: January 24, 2019
Category: Alumni News, College News
Tagged as: Andrew Briz, Aundre Larrow, Ayana Lage, Journalism Department