SJI Alums on the Move: April Edition

For Noriega, Summer Olympics are more than just must-see TV

Stamford, Conn., is more than 6,500 miles from Tokyo, but as a researcher working for NBC Sports Group during the Tokyo Olympics this summer, SJI alum Edith Noriega will have a front-row seat for the action.

Noriega, a member of the SJI Class of 2019, will focus on the baseball and softball competition. Her job is about much more than just balls and strikes. “As a researcher, my job is to become an expert on any given Olympic sport—from rules to schedule, history, and all athletes competing,” Noriega says.

She began doing Olympic research for NBC Sports Group in the summer of 2019, and during a 2020 internship at USA Today, she focused on both Olympic sports and trending news.

All of that brought Noriega to where she is now. “My interest in research is the culmination of all the experience I gained while I was a reporter at The State Press (the student newspaper at her alma mater, Arizona State), internships and at the Global Sports Institute,” she said.

SJI played a role, too. “SJI reminded me of the value of maintaining a professional network during and after an internship, and just reading every day,” she said. “That could be job postings or keeping up with the daily news.”

-Alanis Thames of the SJI Class of 2019 knows what she’ll be doing this summer—and for the next year. Thames, a graduate of the University of Florida, is part of the 2021-22 New York Times Fellowship, a one-year work program that the newspaper says is “aimed at cultivating the next generation of top journalists.” To that end, “Fellows will hear from speakers, have training opportunities, gain feedback and participate as full-time journalists across our report,” The Times says on its website.

Thames will be doing sports reporting during the fellowship. She feels both excited, and ready for the challenge. “I’m incredibly thankful to all of my SHU mentors who have helped me get to this point,” she says, “and I’m so proud to represent SJI at The New York Times.”

- Nick Creegan (above) of the SJI Class of 2012 made his debut on Law & Order: Organized Crime.

- Gregory Lee of the SJI Class of 1994 was a panelist on GBH's The State of Race: Voter Suppression.

- Ben Arthur of the SJI Class of 2017 has joined the Tennessean as a Titans beat reporter. He was previously at the Seattle PI as a Seahawks reporter.

- Julio Vega of the SJI Class of 2020 joined the Amarillo Globe-News (@amarilloglobe) as a sports reporter.

- Ryan Herrera of the SJI Class of 2020 and 2021 has accepted a reporting position with MLB.com.

- Cora Hall of the SJI Class of 2021 won the AAJA Sports Task Force Jimmie and Suey Fong Yee Fellowship.