Spring 2023 Staff

Lariat Print Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Rachel Royster is a junior journalism news-editorial major and BIC student with a minor in French. In her fifth semester at the Lariat, she is thrilled to lead and learn from her staff. She hopes to work in a newsroom after college and become the editor of a big city paper. Rachel’s favorite memory at the Lariat was when they participated in sand volleyball intramurals and lost in the very first round.

Sports Editor

Michael Haag is a sophomore Journalism Major from Floresville, Texas. He has a deep passion for sports and you can find him wearing crocs almost everyday. Michael aspires to become a sports journalist one day.

Copy Editor

Sydney Kerbow is a sophomore journalism major with a minor in film and digital media. This is her first semester at the Lariat and couldn’t be more grateful to have this opportunity. She hopes to work at the copy desk of The New York Times. Sydney is looking forward to starting her journey at the Lariat and continuing her work at Baylor Athletics as a graphic designer.

Social Media Editor

Lily Nussbaum is a junior Film and Digital Media and Public Relations double major from Dallas, TX. This is her second semester working for the Lariat and she is excited to be the Social Media Editor. When she isn’t in class or the Lariat newsroom, she is probably on the couch watching TV or snuggled up in her bed with some tea and a good book.

Part-Time News Writer

Luke Lattanzi is a junior political science major with a minor in news-editorial. This is his first semester at the Lariat, and he is looking forward to learning more about what it takes to report for a newspaper and meeting new people along the way. Luke is strongly considering going into journalism and working for a publication after college.

Part-Time News Writer

Shelby Peck is a sophomore journalism major with a minor in religion. This is her first semester at the Lariat, and she is so excited to use this position to discover more about Baylor and share it with the community. Shelby aspires to lead and love well wherever her career in journalism takes her, whether it be a nonprofit or a baseball stadium.

Part-Time A&L Writer

Avery Ballmann is a sophomore Journalism major with a Women and Gender Studies minor. She is born and raised in Waco, Texas and has enjoyed meeting sources and connecting with her community while on staff.

Sports Writer

Foster Nicholas is a sophomore broadcast journalism major with a minor in Film. During his third semester with the Lariat, he is excited to bring his sports passion that has been heard in the radio, straight to the page. He hopes to be an on air personality doing play-by-play on the big stage after he graduates. Foster’s favorite part of the Lariat is spreading his passion for sports around the newsroom and audience to bring joy!

Part-Time Photographer

Assoah Ndomo is a Junior majoring in Mechanical engineering and minoring in Business Administration. This upcoming semester he hopes to display the beauty of Baylor and the Waco area through his photography. Assoah’s favorite memory at the Lariat is finding out that he gets VIP treatment at events just because he has a camera in his hand.

Cartoonist

Gracie Speer is a junior apparel design & product development major with a film & digital media minor. With an interest in digital art and animation, they spend their free time drawing and plan to work as a visual development artist in the future. Gracie is most excited to work with and learn from the group of skilled individuals at the Lariat.

News Editor

Ana Ruiz Brictson is a junior, Journalism, News-Editorial major, from Monterrey, Mexico. She loves to play tennis and piano, write, and watch TV shows. She is always opened to hear people’s stories and enjoys listening to others open up.

Opinion Editor

Tatum Mitchell is a junior journalism and political science major from Chicago, and she is on the Baylor Equestrian Team. Approaching her one year mark with the Lariat, Tatum is looking forward to learning more from her coworkers and growing friendships in the newsroom. She is passionate about all things media and aspires to be involved with journalism throughout her career.

Copy Editor

Caitlyn Meisner is a senior political science major in the BIC with minors in news-editorial & international studies. In her second semester with the Lariat, she hopes to learn more in her copy editing role to coincide with her reporting experience. Post-graduation, Caitlyn hopes to become a reporter or copy editor at a newspaper or daily publication in DC; she hopes to focus on politics & specific policies that impact the everyday American. Caitlyn’s favorite memory of the Lariat was the midterm elections when both broadcast and print staff were in the newsroom all night collaborating on their stories and reporting together!

Web Editor

Nick Cook is a junior Cybersecurity major from Maryland. This is his second year with the Lariat as Web Editor. Nick enjoys playing basketball at the SLC when he is not in the newsroom and also enjoys attending as many athletics events as he can.

Stephy Mahoney

Stephy Mahoney is a junior journalism major with a minor in creative writing. She hopes to work as a broadcaster after college and/or create short stories about her personal passions and experiences growing up overseas in Saudi Arabia. Stephy is looking forward to being a part of the Lariat and getting to know her coworkers and creating memories while learning to strength her personal skills.

Part-Time News Writer

Kassidy Tsikitas is a sophomore journalism major with a minor in FDM. She wants to become a travel writer and report for small town newspapers. Kassidy is excited to work at the Lariat, meet new people and become a stronger writer.

Part-Time A&L Writer

Olivia Turner is currently a freshman at Baylor University double-majoring in Journalism and Sociology. As a Minnesotan, Olivia anticipates learning more about Baylor, Waco and the Lone Star State during her first semester working for the Lariat. Olivia also looks forward to working in a newsroom for the very first time and making friends with the wonderful Lariat team. Olivia loves hearing and writing about people’s stories and ideas, so she is eager to one day be a columnist, though she doesn’t know where yet.

Full-Time Photographer

Olivia Havre is a senior majoring in apparel design and production management, minoring in studio art and is a part of Baylor Interdisciplinary Core. This is her second semester working for the lariat as a photographer. Olivia loves making art and wants to learn every type of medium that exists. She also has 3 cats, 3 snails and a fish who she all loves very deeply.

Part-Time Photographer

Grace Evertt joined The Lariat in the spring of 2022 as a staff photographer and quickly found a tight-knit community of friends in the newsroom. She spent the summer working as a portrait photographer for Lauren Studios, taking yearbook photos of incoming Baylor students during freshman orientation. As a photojournalism major and a film and digital media minor, Grace hopes to pursue photography or video in the music industry. In the meantime, she plans to continue working for The Lariat until she graduates in the spring of 2023.

Arts & Life Editor

Emma Weidmann is a sophomore English major from San Antonio, TX with minors in French and Advertising. You can find her with headphones in and a book in her bag at all times. She hopes to have a career as a writer and to continue with journalism after her time at Baylor.

Photo Editor

Kenneth Prabhakar Is a Public Relations major with a minor in Business administration. This is his first year working the Lariat and is working as photographer. He plans on working with Lariat till he graduates in winter 2023. After college, he hopes to pursue a career in sports PR.

Assistant News Editor

Jenna Fitzgerald is a junior University Scholar with a secondary major in news-editorial and minors in political science and Spanish. In her fourth semester at the Lariat, she is excited to embrace a new position and see other phases of the news cycle. After graduation, she plans to pursue her Ph.D. in journalism and teach at the college level. Jenna’s favorite memories with the Lariat come from late nights spent in the newsroom for print editions.

Part-Time News Writer

Raylee Foster is a freshman journalism major with a double minor in Spanish and political science. This is her first semester working for the Lariat, and she is so thrilled to get to work alongside such wonderful writers. She is from Indiana but hopes to one day travel the world as she pursues journalism. Raylee has a passion for writing and can’t wait to grow in her work.

Part-Time News Writer

Sydney Matthews is a sophomore journalism major with a concentration in advertising and a minor in business administration. She is from Seattle, WA and hopes to work in advertising at a global company after college. This is her first semester at the Lariat and is looking forward to working with a team and advancing her journalism skills.

Part-Time News Writer

Sarah Wang is an international student majoring in journalism and professional writing. In this semester, she strives to create more memories with The Lariat and write better stories. Her favorite memory at the The Lariat was going to Media Fest in Washington D.C. and meeting with professionals in the field.

Sports Writer

Gio Gennero is a Journalism major from San Antonio. Growing up with in a sports family, Gio loves all sports especially basketball, football and volleyball. Gio’s goal is to be a sports journalist for ESPN and eventually appear on his own sports talk show.

Full-Time Photographer

Katy Mae is a senior Corporate Communication & Public Relations double major with a minor in Media Management from Blue Springs, Missouri. This is her first semester with the Lariat and she is very excited about being a photographer. In her free time, she can be found reading, hanging out with friends, doing yoga or drinking coffee.

Cartoonist

Gwen Ueding is a junior, Marketing and Finance double major from Omaha, Nebraska. Gwen enjoys board games, playing sports or doing anything competitive. Gwen’s 8-year-old self would tell you that her favorite thing to do is draw cartoons, so she is happily fulfilling her second-grade dreams as the Lariat cartoonist.

Lariat TV News Staff

Executive Producer

George Schroeder is a follower of Christ and a junior journalism major serving as the Executive Producer of Lariat TV News and is also currently a sportswriter for the Lariat during the Fall semester. He was the LTVN Broadcaster of the Year and inaugural winner of the Rick Bradfield Breaking News and Investigative Journalism Award for the 2022 school year. He is a contracted cadet on scholarship in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at Baylor’s Detachment 810 and hopes to serve as a Public Affairs Officer in the USAF.

Reporter/Anchor

Kaity Kempf is a junior journalism-public relations major and french minor. This is her second year on staff with the Lariat and as a broadcast news reporter. When she’s not working you can find her managing socials and performing with Sing Alliance, doing video livestreams for China Spring’s football, and travelling to festivals and concerts.

Reporter/Anchor

Braden Murray is a freshman Journalism major. He is excited to be a reporter for LTVN and a part of the Lariat in general. In the future he hopes to work in sports journalism. When not in the newsroom, Braden likes to read, ride his bike, and hang out with friends

Reporter/Anchor

Danika Young is a returning sophomore journalism and criminal justice major. Danika is beyond excited to continue working with LTVN as a reporter/anchor. Danika aspires to continue her career in journalism, focus on crime, and someday end up at fox news.

Managing Editor

Nate Smith, a native of Porter, Texas, is a senior at Baylor University studying Journalism and Public Relations. Since his first day in Waco, Nate has worked for Baylor Lariat TV News. In his time at Lariat TV he has held positions as a Reporter, Sports Director and Executive Producer. Nate has also had the privilege of interning at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and is currently working as a Production Assistant for KWTX in Waco. Nate is on track to graduate in May of 2023, and hopes to pursue a career in TV news production or sports media

Reporter/Anchor

Alexandra Laurence is a sophomore communications major from San Antonio, Texas. This is her second year working as a broadcast reporter and first year as the LTVN social media editor. She dreams of one day working for a major TV network. In her free time, she enjoys attending Baylor sporting events and being involved in her community.

Reporter/Anchor

Brady Small is a freshman pre-business student. In his second semester with the Lariat he hopes to expand his knowledge on the business as well as get to know his co-workers better. He hopes to work on the business side of film and digital media whatever that might look like. Brady’s favorite memory at the Lariat was staying up late with the rest of the crew on election night.

Reporter/Anchor

Abbey Ferguson is a freshman Broadcast Journalism major and BIC/Honors Program student with a minor in Corporate Communications. She is beyond excited to be working with the Lariat and grow her reporting skills during her first year in college. Upon graduation, she hopes to be an on-scene reporter. She is looking forward to learning from the other staff and diving into work that closely relates to her career aspirations.

Sports Director

Joe Pratt is a Journalism major with a News Editorial concentration. He works for Lariat TV News as a broadcast reporter hoping to one day become a sports writer/broadcaster. During free time, Joe enjoys playing golf, hockey, and wathcing sports.

Reporter/Anchor

Pierson Luscy is a senior communications major with a news editorial minor from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is working now so that one day he will be a sports anchor on ESPN. In his free time, Pierson loves to write sports broadcasts and watch the Baylor Bears.

Reporter/Anchor

Kaitlin Sides is a sophomore journalism major. She is excited to be a part of the Lariat TV News staff as a broadcast reporter. In the future she hopes to work as a broadcast reporter in Dallas, Texas. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her friends and traveling to new places.

Lariat Radio Staff

Radio Director

Harper Mayfield is a junior journalism/public relations major with a minor in entrepreneurship. Originally from Allen, TX, he grew up as a competitive swimmer, which drove his love for sports. He currently hosts the Don’t Feed The Bears podcast.

Play-by-play

Foster Nicholas is a sophomore broadcast journalism major with a minor in Film. During his third semester with the Lariat, he is excited to bring his sports passion that has been heard in the radio, straight to the page. He hopes to be an on air personality doing play-by-play on the big stage after he graduates. Foster’s favorite part of the Lariat is spreading his passion for sports around the newsroom and audience to bring joy!