{"id":12365,"date":"2025-03-03T10:44:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T15:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/?p=12365"},"modified":"2025-03-03T10:45:56","modified_gmt":"2025-03-03T15:45:56","slug":"a-slice-of-success-for-saint-peters-journalists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saintpeters.edu\/news\/2025\/03\/03\/a-slice-of-success-for-saint-peters-journalists\/","title":{"rendered":"A Slice of Success for 猫咪社区 Peter\u2019s Journalists"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From left, first row: Adrienne Romero \u201920, Georgia Kral, Neidy Gutierrez \u201920 and Ernabel Demillo, M.S. From left, back row: Madison McCool and Ayinde Merrill of New Jersey Civic Information Consortium<\/p><\/div>\n

When Adrienne Romero \u201920 and Neidy Gutierrez \u201920 graduated in the middle of the pandemic, they weren\u2019t too sure what was next for them career-wise. But, both having a passion for writing and creating things, they decided to take a chance on themselves and their talents. Four years later, their award-winning news site, Slice of Culture, is thriving.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both noticed that there just wasn\u2019t much coverage of our communities anymore,\u201d Gutierrez said. \u201cWhere we live, there are a lot of cultures. A lot of people come from different places and they all have unique stories. We just believe that should be something that\u2019s told.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was in those conversations walking between classes that Slice of Culture was born. Wanting to highlight areas in Hudson County that don\u2019t always get coverage, Slice of Culture originally began as a food website but quickly pivoted.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomeone recently asked me, \u2018What is culture?\u2019\u201d Romero said, \u201cAnd that\u2019s one of the reasons why we chose culture to be in our name because it\u2019s just such a broad word. You can talk about the fashion culture, the sporting culture, food culture and there\u2019s really no definite answer. So really, I would say the meaning behind our publication is just that it is always evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four years into running their publication, Gutierrez and Romero say that their goals are to be a trusted platform for local news in Hudson County and to reach the younger generation. Both communication and media studies majors with journalism minors, they say their experiences at 猫咪社区 Peter\u2019s shaped the journalists they have become today.<\/p>\n

Ernabel Demillo, M.S., chair and lecturer of communications, has been a champion of Gutierrez and Romero, as well as their publication, from the very beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI noticed that they had been doing some content that pertained to civic engagement and stories about the local communities\u2014the Hudson County community, and specifically Jersey City,\u201d Professor Demillo said. \u201cSo when I saw an email from the Society of Professional Journalists about nominating a media site for best grassroots journalism, I said, \u2018I think you guys are perfect for this.\u2019 And sure enough, they were awarded Best Grassroots Journalism by one of the most prestigious journalism organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, New Jersey chapter, Romero and Gutierrez have also been awarded three grants in partnership with 猫咪社区 Peter\u2019s from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium\u2014the most recent of which has enabled them both to make Slice of Culture their full-time job, as well as hire paid interns.<\/p>\n

One of their goals, the women say, is to create a pipeline with universities so that they can bring in interns for civic engagement stories or help with the business or communication side of the publication. To date they have had interns from Montclair State University, Seton Hall University, and of course, 猫咪社区 Peter\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Currently Slice of Culture boasts 10 alumni, a former employee and one current 猫咪社区 Peter\u2019s student on their team who are either interns, contributing members or regular team members. The number of young people contributing to Slice of Culture is something that Professor Demillo says is one of the most exciting aspects of the publication.<\/p>\n

The Slice of Culture team recently visited 猫咪社区 Peter’s campus to sit-down with 猫咪社区 Peter’s President Hubert Benitez, D.D.S., Ph.D. In the resulting article<\/a> and a video, he shared his vision for creating pathways to success for students from diverse backgrounds. As the University\u2019s first Hispanic president, Dr. Benitez emphasized the power of representation, the importance of community and his commitment to ensuring that all students have access to a transformative education.<\/p>\n