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Staffer of the Week: Daniel Smith

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Once a week, The Hoya recognizes one or two staffers who have done a particularly awesome job — now you can get to know about them, too. Here’s our interview with Staffer of the Week, Danny Smith:

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Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Year and School: SFS ’17
Major: International Politics
Position on The Hoya: Photo Editor

Why did you earn Staffer of the Week?
I took the photos for the spring fashion issue of The Guide, put in requests for new photo equipment and was recognized “for being a generally competent human being.” That last one is my favorite. It essentially means I do my job.

If you could be a Wisey’s sandwich, which would you be and why?
The predictable answer is Chicken Madness, but what people don’t realize is that I’d be a perennial favorite in the GUSA executive election. I also think there’s a hint of spice in my personality ;) probably due to my Latino heritage.

Why did you decide to join The Hoya, and how has it contributed to your college experience?
I joined my freshman fall because I was pretty into photography and thought it’d be a good way to stay at it. It doesn’t hurt that being a staff photographer for The Hoya means you get to take photos of famous politicians and cover Georgetown basketball. Working for The Hoya has been a defining part of college for me – sometimes I feel like I go to Georgetown University, where I work for The Hoya and take classes on the side. But I’m definitely more than okay with that.

If you could be Jack the Bulldog for one day, what would you do?
I’d go for a nice walk down P Street, the most underrated street in Georgetown. Then I’d go down to the waterfront and play with the other dogs that get walked down there. After that, I’d be exhausted from all the attention Georgetown students would shower me with, so I’d take a nap up by the observatory. Not a bad day at all.

Photo: Michelle Xu/The Hoya
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Staffer of the Week: Matthew De Silva

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Once a week, The Hoya recognizes one or two staffers who have done a particularly awesome job — now you can get to know about them, too. Here’s our interview with Staffer of the Week, Matthew De Silva:

Matt

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
School: SFS
Year: 2016
Major: International Economics
Position on The Hoya: Director of Technology
 
Why did you earn Staffer of the Week?
At the Yale Daily News Annual Conference on College Newspapers, I met Vincent Bzdek, the news editor at The Washington Post. I was inspired by his passion for digital media, so when I returned to Georgetown, I reached out to him to coordinate a staff visit to the Washington Post’s offices. This past Monday, Mr. Bzdek led fifteen of our staffers on a tour. We also had the opportunity to sit in on the morning news meeting. It was so cool hearing the editors debate the stories of the day – what should make the front page? When should they break each headline? It was fascinating to hear the flow of their conversation and see “how news is made.”

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If you could be a vegetable, which would you be and why?
Sweet potato… with caramelized marshmallows. Because it’s delicious.
Why did you decide to join The Hoya, and how has it contributed to your college experience?
I love being current with the news and understanding the world around me. I joined The Hoya to contribute to the dialogue that shapes the Georgetown community. For me, this means finding the best ways to deliver the news and constantly improving our website. Through The Hoya I met one of my roommates and discovered a potential career path. I have loved my time with the newspaper.
What’s a song you can’t stop listening to right now?
“Cut to Black” by Lemaitre
Photos: Matthew De Silva/The Hoya, The Hoya
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Staffer of the Week: Gregory Saydah

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Once a week, The Hoya recognizes one or two staffers who have done a particularly awesome job — now you can get to know about them, too. Here’s our interview with Staffer of the Week Gregory Saydah:

Greg Staffer

Hometown: Kula, Hawaii
School: MSB
Year: 2016
Major: Finance and International Business double major; Art History minor
Position on the Hoya: Local Ads Manager
Why did you earn Staffer of the Week?
Breaking the record for the single largest sale for local ads.
Why did you decide to join The Hoya, and how has it contributed to your college experience?
I decided to join The Hoya because I was looking for somewhere to learn skills I could apply to the real world and make great friends in the process. The Hoya has given me both incredible friends, and a unique opportunity to hone my professional skills throughout the DC area through the sales department.
 
What’s a song you can’t stop listening to right now?
You Make My Dreams, by Daryl Hall and John Oates
If you could be a vegetable, which would you be and why?
A tomato… because I could then turn myself into spaghetti, chicken Parmesan or a caprese salad.
Photo: Facebook
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Staffer of the Week: Ellen Zamsky

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Once a week, The Hoya recognizes one or two staffers who have done a particularly awesome job — now you can get to know about them, too. Here’s our interview with Staffer of the Week, Ellen Zamsky:

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Hometown: Darien, Connecticut
School: COL
Year: 2016
Major: Political Economy and French
Position on the Hoya: Director of Human Resources

Why did you earn staffer of the week?
For being a resource to humanity! Slash overseeing this semester’s recruitment process. Hello and welcome to The Hoya’s 84 new hires!!

If you could be a veggie, what would you be?
Kale might be in vogue, but I’m big into beets. Beautiful in color, look pretty in a salad, nice and nutritional. I wouldn’t want to waste my short vegetable life as any less vibrant color. Plus, Dwight Schrute anyone?

If you had to live in one place on Georgetown’s campus, what would it be and why?
For starters, I am super partial to Darnall 5, my first home on the Hilltop. However, if I had free reign to establish a homestead anywhere I pleased on this campus, I would have to go with a suite in Riggs Library. I could be like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, minus the part where I’m held captive by a prince trapped in the body of a monster.

If you could be Jack the Bulldog for one day, what would you do?
Oh my gosh, I would definitely skateboard! I can’t skateboard as a human so it would be great to be transformed into an adorable canine who can. Also, I’ve never been Instagram video-ed by thousands of loyal fans, so that would be a nice experience to have.

How much do you miss Tuscany pizza?
Remember the size of those Tuscany slices? They were humongous. That is how much I miss Tuscany’s: a humungous, super-sized amount. With ranch.

Photo: Facebook

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Staffer of the Week: Sam Abrams

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Once a week, The Hoya recognizes one or two staffers who have done a particularly awesome job — now you can get to know about them, too. Here’s our interview with Staffer of the Week Sam Abrams:

Sam Staffer

Hometown: Overland Park, Kansas
School: SFS
Year: 2017
Major: International Politics
Position on the Hoya: Former Senior Sports Editor

Why did you earn Staffer of the Week?
I have no clue, but it seems like they’re just going down the chain of command. The printer got it last week. [Ed. Note: Sam earned Staffer of the Week for his work on the Basketball Preview.]

What’s a song you can’t stop listening to right now?
Well, former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi was quoted in the 2009 work Nonproliferation Norms, “The times of Arab nationalism and unity are gone forever. These ideas which mobilized the masses are only a worthless currency. Libya has had to put up with too much from the Arabs for whom it has poured forth both blood and money.” So I guess I’ll go with “Shake It Off.”

If you could be any vegetable, what would you be and why?
Cauliflower, because there are so many ways to prepare me, but raw is still the best.

If your life was made into a movie, what would the title be and why?
Probably “Fast and Furious 8”, because they’re on 7 right now and when they make the next one, they will either have to skip straight to 9 or have to buy the rights from me. Also, I’ve always wanted to meet Paul Walker.

Photo: Michelle Xu/The Hoya

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Staffer of the Week: Hannah Kaufman

staffer-of-the-week1 Once a week, The Hoya recognizes one or two staffers who have done a particularly awesome job — now you can get to know about them, too. Here’s our interview with Staffer of the Week, Hannah Kaufman:
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Hometown: Huntington, N.Y. (Long Islander, of course)
School: College
Major: History and English
Year: 2017

Why were you named Staffer of the Week?
Because of my DT on fake ID’s, underage drinking and the social life on and off campus. It was my first news piece!

What do you enjoy most while working for the Hoya?
I think working for the Guideis so great, because you get to go to all these artsy fartsy cultural events and a lot of it is free, so your assignment is literally just to have fun with it.

What is your spirit animal? 
Definitely a dragon.

If you could wake up anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would you go?
Does Mars count?

What is your favorite gif ever? 

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For obvious reasons.

Thanks Hannah and congrats!

Photo: Facebook

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Staffer of the Week: Mallika Sen

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Once a week, The Hoya recognizes one or two staffers who have done a particularly awesome job — now you can get to know about them, too. This week, Mallika Sen earned Staffer of the Week for writing a respectful obituary to the accomplished, trailblazing former dean of the SFS, Carol Lancaster (SFS ’64). Here’s our interview with Mallika:

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Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
School: SFS
Major: Regional and Comparative Studies (the latter half), with concentrations in Western and Eastern Europe
Year: 2016
Position on The Hoya: Executive Editor

Is there anything special you’d like to say about the piece on Dean Lancaster?

I’ve admired Dean Lancaster since GAAP Weekend; it was impossible not to enjoy yourself every time she spoke. I’ve told this story to anyone who’ll listen this past week, but probably the second article I ever wrote for this paper was about high-profile professors, and I shot her an email as a Hail Mary, not really expecting anything. She responded 12 minutes later, telling me to call her and I was so grateful. I just hope that the obituary did her even a modicum of justice.

What attracted you to The Hoya?

I got really excited when I saw that they used Helvetica Neue as one of their fonts. I’ve been making newspapers since I was 7 (#microsoftpublisher) and I did the blasted thing in high school, so it was a natural progression (although the attraction was not mutual, considering I didn’t make it freshman fall). I like telling stories, and I like knowing everything.

If you ran the university for a day, what would be your first decision?

I would immediately forbid the disfigurement of the linden tree at Václav Havel’s Place with garish decorations for random holidays. My second decision would be the institution of ever-changing fences, à la Hogwarts’ staircases, because I don’t think getting around campus is interesting enough at the moment. Where’s the challenge?

If your life was made into a movie, what would the title be and why?

“Accentric,” because I cannot pronounce anything “properly” or in a geographically identifiable fashion.

What’s a song you can’t stop listening to right now?

I found the “Prayer in C” remix through a Spotify ad (a worse meet-cute than Tinder), and it’s not even the most brilliant song, but the contrast between the music and the lyrics makes for some prime nonchalant angry bitterness, which makes me happy.

Congratulations, Mallika! If you, the reader, has some spare time, please read Mallika’s lovely obituary (or Katherine Richardson’s piece on the memorial) for Dean Lancaster, who was truly an encapsulation of everything Georgetown University stands for.

Photo: Facebook

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Staffer of the Week: Brian Carden

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Once a week, The Hoya recognizes one or two staffers who have done a particularly awesome job — now you can get to know about them, too. Here’s our interview with Staffer of the Week Brian Carden:

Brian Staffer

Hometown: Port Washington, N.Y.

School: MSB
Major: Finance and Operations & Information Management
Minor: Economics
Year: 2016
Position on The Hoya: Director of Sales
Why did you earn Staffer of the Week?

I sold a bunch of ads, including breaking the record for the New Student Guide. To quote Executive Editor Mallika Sen, “#nonewsfriday.”

What famous actor would play you in a movie about your life?
I’d have to say Adam Scott since I have a strikingly uncanny resemblance to Ben Wyatt.

What advice would you give a young Brian Carden – let’s say four years ago?
Don’t take yourself so seriously.

Are you a Jack the Bulldog or a John Carroll?
While the idea of lounging around Copley Lawn and winding up in the profile pictures of squatting freshmen certainly sounds appealing, I’m going to have to go with John Carroll. Like me, he seems like the kind of guy who liked to get stuff done. (I mean, after all, he founded Georgetown.)

Congrats to Brian! May you continue in your sales success.

Photo: Facebook

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Staffers of the Week: Lindsay Lee and Nick DeLessio

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Once a week, The Hoya recognizes a staffer who has done a particularly awesome job – now you can get to know about them, too. This week it went to two staffers for their work on the spiffy new Hoya website!
Lindsay Lee
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School: College
Year: 2016
Major: Economics with a Spanish minor
Hometown: Albany, NY
Why were you named staffer of the week?
The Hoya’s website used to operate on a platform that was very difficult to work with and limited our abilities to expand our online content. It had caused a lot of headaches for editors over the course of many years and this year we really made the big push to get onto the WordPress platform. I spearheaded the effort to organize a team to manually transfer our archives and assisted the tech department in making sure everything was user-friendly for both the editors as they uploaded the stories and for the audience as they navigated the website. It’s been a long and tough journey and was a huge team effort, but we finally made it happen and it’s paid off!
What’s your favorite thing about working for The Hoya?
My favorite thing about working for The Hoya is that you truly reap the rewards of the time you put in. We work hard and stay up way past a normal human bedtime to produce two issues a week and get this tangible product of everything everyone has put into it. You get that feeling of gratification as you see people walking around with the newest issue or see the number of views on the website climbing and it feels great. Because of this, you bond with the people you work with in a totally different way that is equally as gratifying.

If you were to pick a mascot for The Hoya what would it be and why?
An owl. We’re nocturnal, we see and hear everything, we’re a diverse bunch and we regurgitate pellets of animal bones … wait … no not that last part.

What’s your favorite blog post you’ve ever written?
I would say any article that allowed me to shed a different light on a campus issue in a way that the print edition couldn’t. Articles like “The Problem With Anonymity: An Interview with Georgetown Confessions,” “Lovingly Defiant” or, more recently, “Behind the Designs.” 
What is the theme song to your life?

“Hell Yeah” – Rev Theory, also known as the theme song to Blue Mountain State. That song pumps me up like no other.

Nick DeLessio

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School: College
Year: 2015
Major: Computer Science
Hometown: Bettendorf, Iowa

Why were you named staffer of the week?
My department created and launched the brand new thehoya.com.

What’s your favorite thing about working for The Hoya?
My staff, especially my managers. They’re all crazy smart and support me in every possible way, both inside and outside of The Hoya.
If you were to pick a mascot for The Hoya what would it be and why?
I guess a lion. It’s still my favorite Hoya party costume to date.

What is the theme song to your life?
“A Little Party Never Killed Nobody” by Fergie.

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Staffer of the Week: Matthew Gregory

946711_10151589349718386_117958106_nName: Matthew Gregory
Position on The Hoya: News writer
Year: 2017

Why did you earn staffer of the week?
I covered the GUSA election for the Hoya between February 13 and February 27, reporting on anything from the platforms to the debates to individual issues like free speech and diversity. It was a lot of work -I wrote about fifteen articles in two weeks -but it was great to get to know all the candidates and see the different plans they had for making the university a better place. Plus, I got to write some pretty interesting and controversial pieces, like the one about the Stewards, which received 79 comments, including a novel by DPE’s own Terry Boyle.

What’s your favorite part about working for The Hoya?
I definitely think the people you meet, the connections you make, and the experiences you have have all made the Hoya especially rewarding for me. In January, I got to cover an event at the White House with the President and First Lady, and stand about ten feet from where they were speaking, which was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had at Georgetown so far, and during GUSA, it was really incredible to be at the center of all the action and report in real-time was happening with the candidates. I met some incredible people, and it’s these relationships that I think will be the most valuable thing going forward.

What is your favorite dessert and why?
Cream puffs at Leo’s…not because they’re really amazing or anything, but because it’s so rare when they have them, and it really makes my day when they do.

Lupita Nyong’o or Jennifer Lawrence – and why?
I’m going to go with Jennifer Lawrence, I guess, but not the crazy one who lights the microwave on fire in American Hustle, more of a Hunger Games type.

Who is your dream date and why?
Lindsey Duke, UCF Quarterback Blake Bortles’ girlfriend. And why? I’m pretty sure any picture would answer that question…