Staff

Since 1924, the Templar Annual Yearbook has been rapidly growing; more students, more photographs and more memories. Student staff members dedicate countless hours discovering unique angles to Temple’s most exciting events and people through it’s five primary sections; student life, academics, sports, people, organizations and Greek life. Our staff searches for the people and stories that are most unique to Temple University, a campus unlike any other.

Maryvic Perez
Editor in Chief

Her name is Maryvic Perez and she is clearly alive. But according to some cultures she came to life on the last day of the dead. Can anyone guess when that is? She is not a Buddhist but “if you meet the Buddha on the road…” BAM! “kill him.” She believes and honors culture, and countries, but beyond that in an individual creativity and capacity that resonate from each one. If you see the Buddha, the person that wants to set you right, the person that overwhelms you with dominion and an aura of hierarchy, demonstrate with even greater oomph your individualism. She is alive, her name is Maryvic Perez, and she dares you to assimilate, and not to accommodate.

Courtney Idasetima
Managing Editor

 

Anna Cutaia
Assistant Copy Editor

Anna Cutaia is a senior Honors student in Secondary Education and English with a concentration in Creative Writing: Poetry. Her primary interest as a poet regards memory and the duality of sublimes, linking affect, sensation and experience to physical form in writing. Professionally, her firm belief in extraordinary potentials has led her to pursue licensure in High School English teaching. She plans to teach 9-12 creatively, centering on the values of originality, critical thought, diversity and compassion. Drawn to the Assistant Copy Editor position by her positive experiences on the high school newspaper, Templar’s collegiate-level challenge combines her love of “constant improvement” in the writing and editing loop with her psychological interest in memory, preservation, archives and schooling. She believes all written work is critical, imperative and immortal. A favorite quote: “To play safe, I prefer to accept only one type of power: the power of art over trash, the triumph of magic over the brute.”
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Phoebe Mikalonis

Art Director

Phoebe, the Art Director of Templar Annual, is a senior studying Graphic and Interactive Design at Tyler School of Art. Her love of all things artsy has given her the chance to have work purchased and put on display by the Pennsylvania State Education Association and Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. She has also worked alongside high-level design professionals at Comcast to produce work for the 2016 Rio Olympics amongst other projects. She is an avid YouTube watcher, photographer, and cat lover, and even runs an Instagram account for her two cats with over a thousand followers. After graduation, Phoebe hopes to get a job with a design studio in the city spending every day doing what she loves.

Justin “JT” Thomas
Senior Reporter

JT is a senior media studies & production major at Temple. His love of sports has driven him in everything he does both personal and professional wise. Aside from being the senior sports reporter for Templar JT is a sports radio host for W.H.I.P (Temple’s student run radio) as well as a sports writer for themadmansports.com and blackaphillyated.com. JT is an avid videogame player, basketball enthusiast as well as a very avid tweeter. In addition to all this he is a resident assistant at the freshmen dorm James S. White Hall. For the future JT intends to pursue a career in the sports media world. Whether it be writing or broadcasting it doesn’t matter. As long as it deals with sports he’ll be happy.

Ryan Young
Senior Designer

Ryan is sophomore and a proud student of Tyler School of Art. He plans on pursuing graphic design next year. He always appreciated yearbooks and was always curious about the design process. This is why he is very excited to add his own contribution into Templar. When Ryan is not doing school work, he likes to watch Netflix and spend time with his friends. He says that  he is fortunate to do what he loves every single day.

Gail Vivar
Social Media Director

Gail is a sophomore Journalism student, who took charge as the Social Media editor of Templar. This is her first year with Templar, but the New Jersey native is not new as the head of Social Media with her previous position with The Tab Temple and internship in Brooklyn with the company. When she’s not writing or tweeting for the various organizations that she represents, you could find her exploring Philly or her favorite city of all, New York City.

Brianna Baker
Student Life Section Editor

Brianna is a sophomore journalism major at Temple. She grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, where she spent much of her time reading and imagining stories (and learning the best ways to pick crabs, of course). It wasn’t until high school, though, that she realized she had a knack and love for writing, so she applied to the Literary Arts program at a magnet school for the arts. There she worked as editor of her school paper, and even wrote and self-published a collection of poems called At This Junction. Now, she hopes make a living as a magazine writer, and is doing what she can to get there. You can find her freelance work in The Temple News and Fourteenth Street magazine.

Anika Kalra
Chief Copy Editor & Web Editor

Anika is a sophomore studying Computer Science and English. Her interest in language and learning brought her to Templar Annual, where she serves as chief copy editor and web editor. Previously, she has volunteered with Let’s Get Ready, where she worked as both a verbal coach and head verbal coach. When she’s not caught up in schoolwork, you can probably find her either caring for her plants or relaxing with friends and family.

Alexis Rogers
Academics Section Editor

David Block
Senior Reporter

For over 20 years, David Block has worked as a documentary producer/director and a freelance journalist. He has also been legally blind since birth.

As a freelance journalist, he has over 1500 articles published in a variety of publications such as, Jazz Journal International, the Jerusalem Post, the London Times, the New York Times, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Runner’s World, Runner’s Gazette, Running Times and dozens of local magazines and newspapers. During his extensive career, he has interviewed high profile athletes, celebrities, government agents, and musicians such as Kobe Bryant, Bill Cosby, Joe Frazier, Larry Hagman, Florence Henderson, Bruce Jenner, Lee Majors, Sarah Palin’s parents – Charles & Sally Heath – David Sanborn, McCoy Tyner, and Grover Washington, Jr. He has never shied away from difficult assignments and never missed a deadline. To date, he has made seven documentaries, many of which have been televised and screened at film festivals. He has won a number of film festival awards.

In April 2016, David Block finished his second year of graduate school at Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) where he is pursuing his Masters’ Degree in Journalism.