Gianluca D’Elia, social media editor
I had a brief but amazing time being part of the Downtown Devil team over this past year. I moved to Phoenix from across the country last summer not knowing anyone after deciding to pursue my master’s at Arizona State. DD helped me feel more connected with my community. Through each story and social media interaction, I learned more about my own neighborhood by doing what I love, and it made my experience living here so meaningful.
Working alongside great journalists made the experience even better. I’m thankful for the support, friendship, encouragement, and the way this team would always share and hype up each other’s work.
Sydney Lee, staff reporter
I am so grateful for my time at Downtown Devil. I started as a former JMC 301 student a little over a year ago and was quickly welcomed with open arms into the DD family. Downtown Devil gave me my first taste of a newsroom and working with editors. Every story was important and editors, as well as other staff writers, were always there to lend a helping hand. From cat cafe stories to the housing crisis downtown, editors and other staff writers offered helpful comments or critiques that ultimately have made me a better writer.
Downtown Devil was also never short on giving out kudos. Anniversaries, birthdays, and even stories getting recognized were always praised and supported. I truly couldn’t have asked for a more giving and welcoming group of people to help me transition from a beginner writer to a more experienced journalist. I will miss each and every one of you as I enter into the next phase of my degree. I will miss DD every day and I hope that one day I can come back and reunite with all of you soon!
Kyla Pearce, arts and entertainment editor
Downtown Devil gave me a community and family at the Cronkite School when I needed them the most. I switched majors and campuses the first semester of my junior year, coming to the downtown campus with little journalism experience, no downtown friends and the fear that I wouldn’t find my community in the tight-knit Cronkite School. My first Downtown Devil meeting changed all of those things for me. From day one with DD, I felt accepted into a family of people who opened their hearts and offered endless support to me both as a journalist and as a peer and friend.
Downtown Devil gave me the space to grow and learn and pay that support forward to new reporters. One of the best parts of my Cronkite experience has been sharing the love for journalism that Downtown Devil gave me with all of the students who write for us. It would not have been the same without the wonderful people who make up the Downtown Devil family. The editors, staff reporters and social media team at DD are people who have left a positive lasting impact on my life and I appreciate all of them so much.
I am excited for the journalism world after college, but sad to be leaving Downtown Devil. My role as the A&E editor and my time in DD as a whole has been one of my favorite parts of college and I am endlessly thankful!
Hailey Rein, education editor
Being a part of the Downtown Devil team has been one of my favorite experiences during my time at the Cronkite School. I joined the staff during my sophomore year when I was still figuring out where I fit into the journalism world. Joining as a staff reporter in 2019 helped me find my footing, and bringing stories to downtown Phoenix about the city around us has meant so much to me. For the past year, being the education editor has given me the opportunity to help reporters in the same position I was, and I am so grateful to be a part of their journalistic journey. As the reporters I have worked with continue on to do great things, I am happy to know I was able to lend even the smallest of hands. It makes me so proud that the two reporters I brought into the DD family, Cami Parrish and Yoori Han, will be staying on and are becoming editors; I know they both will continue to do great things here at Downtown Devil.
In just a few days, I will be graduating Summa Cum Laude at the Cronkite School, receiving my BA in Journalism and Mass Communications. I have done many things during my time at Cronkite, but none of them quite compare to my time at DD. I am so grateful to Sara Edwards and Lisa Diethelm for supporting me, and for the whole team for helping me find my own community in this large university. I look forward to seeing them all continue to kick some butt, both at DD and in the world. Thank you so much for allowing me to bring you news in some fashion or another, and I hope to continue serving downtown Phoenix in my career. I am so sad to be leaving, but I know it is in great hands.
