ABOUT
We are The Beacon.
We are the staff and reporters for the news site of Palm Beach Atlantic University's School of Communication and Media. In addition to reporting on college-related news, we focus on localizing current issues, bringing attention to community events and highlighting stories from people who need to be heard.
Staff
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McKay Campbell
Editor-in-Chief
McKay Campbell moved from Nashville, Tennessee in August 2020 to pursue a journalism degree. Now a senior, she enjoys writing people-focused pieces from around the West Palm Beach area and beyond. Campbell loves to travel and hopes to one day live abroad as a freelance journalist. While traveling, she enjoys documenting trips through portrait photography to capture different people from all over the world.
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Sarah Gale
Copy Editor
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Madison Bakatsias
Managing Editor
Madison Bakatsias is a senior studying journalism. Originally from Sterling, Virginia, Bakatsias found her passion for journalism while working as a photojournalist on her high school's yearbook staff. She hopes to one day have her own platform where she can bring people's stories to life in a print form.
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Grace Mackey
Copy Editor
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Veronica Vaughan
Broadcast Editor
Veronica Vaughan is a junior from Denver, Colorado. She is a journalism major and intercultural studies minor. Veronica’s love for photography and writing lead her to want to pursue photojournalism. She hopes to do war photography and travel all over the world one day. Along with photojournalism, Veronica is also passionate about lifestyle videos and hopes to create content for YouTube channels such as Vox and VICE.
Reporters
Reporters
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Isabella Archer
Isabella Archer is originally from Houston, Texas, and is a junior majoring in journalism and minoring in psychology. In her free time, she enjoys playing golf or traveling. So far, she has visited 29 countries, and she enjoys writing print stories about people who have compelling stories that inspire. In the future she hope to continue her travels and write stories on the individuals residing there. In the future, she hopes to manage social media for celebrities and other well-known businesses.
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Estella Collmer
Estella Collmer is a senior at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She is a psychology major with a minor in journalism. Collmer enjoys reading and writing and gets most of her inspiration from her mom. She loves traveling, meeting new people and learning new things. And, she is excited to be writing for The Beacon this year.
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Ariel Girardi
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Hedda Jarhall
Hedda Jarhall is a junior from Sweden majoring in journalism. She also has a minor in politics and plays soccer at PBA. She is passionate about hearing people's stories and sharing them through print pieces. She aspires to work as a foreign correspondent and travel to many places worldwide as a journalist.
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Daniella Pacheco
Daniella Pacheco is a sophomore majoring in journalism with a minor in communications. Originally from Acworth, Georgia, she has a passion for hearing people’s stories and bringing them to life in print. Her love for writing peaked in high school, which lead her to pursue journalism in college. She hopes to travel the world and provide exposure to different people groups, cultures, and places.
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Sofia Smith
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Kaylee Allen
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Luiza Desouza
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Osvaldo Godoy
Osvaldo Godoy, originally from Argentina, is a junior majoring in journalism, with a minor in sports broadcasting. His goal is to one day cover a soccer World Cup, the Olympic Games, and/or a tennis Grand Slam. He hosted a ten-episode podcast on Spotify titled “Jóvenes Promesas,” in which he interviewed young promising athletes from Argentina. He also did an internship at Mundoalbiceleste.com, a website that covers Argentina’s soccer national team.
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Ashlyn Knaebel
Ashlyn Knaebel, originally from Daytona Beach, Florida, came to PBA with a major in education, but changed it to communications with a minor in journalism during her sophomore year. Knaebel has always enjoyed writing and cannot wait to use that love and passion for The Beacon Today. She also loves meeting new people, interacting with them and learning more from them than she would have ever learned on her own.
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Emily Rodriguez
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Jake Swad
Jake Swad is a freshman studying journalism with a minor in pre-law. As a Florida native, it is his distinct honor and pleasure to be a reporter for The Beacon Today.
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Savannah Carr
Savannah Carr is a psychology major with a journalism minor. While she is originally from West Palm Beach, she spent three years studying biology at the University of South Florida, in St. Petersburg. There, she discovered her interest in journalism. She aspires to enter the medical field while using her journalism skills to publish medical news pieces.
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Avery Ehrig
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Anna Hanstveit
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Alisa Koryagina
Alisa Koryagina is senior majoring in journalism. She loves doing interviews and getting to know people while learning their stories. She dreams of working in the gaming journalism industry, such as IGN, where she can combine her passion for video gaming and writing.
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Zachariah Shealy
Faculty Advisor
Jiehua Zhang
Dr. Jiehua Zhang is an assistant professor of journalism and communication at Palm Beach Atlantic University. She worked in the news industry for more than 15 years, including 11 years with the Wall Street Journal Chinese site.