NKU’s Michele Day named to national SPJ board
Northern Kentucky University journalism professor and student media adviser Michele Day has been elected to the Society of Professional Journalists board of directors.
Day will serve a two-year term as Director of Region 5, which includes professional and student journalism chapters in Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois. She was elected last month at the SPJ Excellence in Journalism Conference in New Orleans.
Michelle Day
Day joined NKU in 2001 to teach journalism and communication. She also spent more than 20 years as a journalist, including 17 years as an editor and reporter for the Cincinnati/Kentucky Post. She is faculty adviser to the NKU SPJ chapter and adviser to The Northerner, NKU’s independent student newspaper. She is also founding director of Journalism in the Digital Age, a summer workshop that offers high school journalists real-world experience and online publication.
In February 2016, Day received the Faculty/Staff Strongest Influence Award from the NKU Alumni Association. The award recognizes a faculty or staff member whose teaching, counseling or advising has had a profound influence upon students and graduates.
Day holds a Master in Communication from NKU and a Bachelor of Arts from Western Kentucky University, where she was editor of the award-winning College Heights Herald student newspaper.
NaviGO names Fajack Director of Development
NaviGo College and Career Prep Services, a local non-profit based in Northern Kentucky, has a new Director of Development, Deidra Fajack. Fajack previously served as the Director of Alumni Programs and Licensing at Northern Kentucky University for the 13 years. Her wealth of experience in not only development and fundraising, but also in student and alumni engagement, made her a perfect choice for the role at NaviGo.
“Deidra brings over 20 years of experience in the field of Advancement to this role,” said Tim Hanner, President and CEO of NaviGo College and Career Prep Services. “Her leadership and expertise will be key in allowing us to move NaviGo to the next level. She has spent her career working in the field of Higher Education, with students, educators and businesses, and we are very excited that she will be bringing that expertise to NaviGo as our Director of Development.”
Diedre Fajack
NaviGo works with students through an individual coaching model, as well as with students sponsored by businesses and in school-based programs, making college and career preparation more manageable. The program has expanded quickly, with NaviGo students representing every public high school in Northern Kentucky, along with Covington Catholic and Notre Dame Academy.
Prior to NKU, Fajack was the Associate Director of the University of Cincinnati Alumni Association. In addition, she began her career at UC pursuing her passion in the field of student development in higher education working for nearly 10 years directly with student leadership programs within the area of Student Affairs.
Fajack also brings a strong marketing background to this position. She created the first licensing/branding program at NKU. This project not only created a new revenue stream for the university it provided a uniform look and feel for merchandise and the award winning Northern Magazine where she served as Publisher.
Fajack has a Bachelor’s degree from Morehead State University and her Masters from the University Cincinnati. She is also a 2006 graduate of Leadership Northern Kentucky.
“I look forward to continuing my career working in the Northern Kentucky community,” said Fajack. “This position allows me the opportunity to remain serving and partnering with our local nonprofit organizations, schools and business partners. NaviGo provides a very special and unique opportunity for young people to pursue their Interests, Passions and Talents. I am very excited at this point in my career to have the opportunity to work with such a strong mission oriented organization making a difference in our community.”
NaviGo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing services to Students/Families, Businesses, and Schools/School Districts in Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati and the Lexington areas.
NaviGo College and Career Prep Services www.navigoprep.com 859-905-7830
Lt. Governor named Role Model
Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton was awarded the 2016 Role Model of the Year by the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of the Bluegrass.
Each year the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of the Bluegrass asks their students to vote on one male and one female role model of the year. The students selected Lt. Gov. Hampton as one of their 2016 Role Models of the Year.
The Awards Luncheon program included students singing “America the Beautiful”, student awards, Role Model of the Year awards and remarks by Brian Mattingly of the Boys and Girls Club.
Lt. Gov. Hampton was introduced by her Relations Manager, Cody Patterson, before he presented her the 2016 Role Model of the Year award. Patterson specifically described integrity, humility and joy as values that Lt. Gov. Hampton exemplifies not only as a state leader, but also in her daily life.
“I am so honored to receive this award,” said Lt. Gov. Hampton. “As a public servant, I understand the significance of role models and am happy to serve as one for students across the Commonwealth.”
CovCath seniors named National Merit semifinalist, commended students
Covington Catholic, a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School, is proud to announce that senior Aidan Donaghy has been recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation as a Semi Finalist.
Donaghy
Senior Mark Briede has been named a Commended Student in the 62nd annual National Merit® Scholarship Program.
Last fall, roughly 1.6 million juniors in more than 22,000 high schools across the country entered the 2017 program by taking the PSAT/NMSQT Qualifying Test. Of those juniors, only 16,000, less than one percent, are named National Merit Semifinalists, based on their scores on this exam.
These academically talented students are now eligible to seek Finalist standing, moving one step further in the competition for some 7,500 scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered in the spring of 2017. Nationwide, about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
An additional 34,000 high performers on the PSAT exam are named Commended Students.
Briede
Aidan Donaghy is the son of Barri and Betsy Donaghy, members of Blessed Sacrament parish. He attended St. Paul grade school. Mark Briede is the son of Steve and Meredith Briede, members of St. Joseph parish (Crescent Springs). He attended St. Joseph grade school.
Covington Catholic High School is college preparatory high school within the Diocese of Covington. It is an all-male school of 597 whose mission is to embrace the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in order to educate students spiritually, academically, physically and socially.
