Holden Baranowski is a junior Psychology major at the University of New Haven. He is often obsessing over music and ranting to his friends about how incredible this one song is or how they need to listen to so-and-so’s new record. So, to avoid annoying his friends, he’s started writing reviews of the music he has come across throughout his life. When he’s not listening to music and writing reviews of it for his Advanced Essay Workshop class, he can typically be found reading, writing his own music, watching The Office for the 20th time, or annoying his 5-lb dog.
Jon Buckley is a Junior studying Music and Sound Recording at the University of New Haven. His current interests include listening to/creating music, learning about audio engineering, playing video games, and annoying his beast of a dog (who is a yellow lab/hound mix named Bandit). His interest in writing came from high school English classes, where he loved writing essays, because it felt very natural to write down his thoughts and opinions. This progressed into a passion for writing primarily about music topics, which helps inform his ideas regarding writing reviews as well as writing music. His goal when it comes to writing reviews boils down to one idea: be honest, and don’t regret what you create.
Angelina Caroli is a queer Italian American and Native American, belonging to the Mohegan tribe of Connecticut. She is currently a sophomore studying Criminal Justice at the University of New Haven with a concentration in Crime Victim Services. She’s from a small town on Long Island, NY and has been living by the beach her whole life. She loves music and has always been around it. She is also a huge advocate for Mental Health, LGBTQ+, and POC. Before taking this class, Angelina has dabbled in writing almost all her life. Since taking this class, however, she has seen an improvement in her writing in a formal way, although she feels she still struggles a bit creatively.
Samantha Loffredo is a Sophomore at the University of New Haven studying Nutrition and Dietetics. She enjoys reading books, secret thing about her that comes to a surprise to anyone. When buying products, she always looks at the reviews first to give her a heads up on what to expect. When taking this class, she enjoyed learning more in depth what it is like to write a review. She also learned how important and relevant a review for a product can be. Now she can take that experience and help out others in the world. After she graduates her ambitions is to become a RD or nutritionist living in North Caroline or Upstate New York.
Megan Lopez is a junior at the University of New Haven who is studying clinical psychology. She works as a babysitter on the weekend and is currently looking for another job to work, because she is quickly realizing that as you get older, life gets expensive. Megan is an amateur when it comes to writing reviews. Though she is not a professional reviewer, she has lots of experience in writing reviews, because she is constantly on yelp sharing her opinion and experience with the users of the app. She enjoys reviewing food products and recipes with her friends as well. She genuinely enjoys taking immunity shots even though half of them burn the crap out of her throat. Eventually, Lopez hopes to be living in a warm state in a farmhouse style home with a bunch of dogs and kiddos.
Kelly Nelson is a senior Communications major with a concentration in Journalism at the University of New Haven. She is from New Jersey and has been a writer ever since she was a kid. She has some experience writing reviews because in high school she was a part of her school’s newspaper, sharing her thoughts on the concerts she had attended in the past. She is an avid concert goer, having attended 13 concerts since 2010 and is waiting for the day she can attend them again. Besides going to concerts, she enjoys watching college football and her favorite team is the Alabama Crimson Tide. In the future she hopes to be living in the south and being the proud owner of a Pitbull.
Madison Oliver is a junior Communications major with a concentration in Film Production. Currently in the pre-production process of creating a short film with her Film 2 class. Her love of music is reflected in her writings, talking more about deeper meanings that are hidden within songs. Going to concerts, talking with artists and really trying to fully get a grasp on how artists are trying to relate to their audiences, especially in the current pandemic. She spends most of her time listening to music, watching YouTube/Netflix, or just adventuring around with friends. After graduation, Madison hopes to be a photographer/videographer for bands while they are on tour or travel the world with her journalism friend to try out freelance work.
Aashh, real name Aashutosh Pahari, is an International Student from Nepal. His nickname has no special story behind it, as he just gave it to himself. However, it is worth noting that he loves the character ‘Ash’ from the ‘Pokemen’ show. Aashh is studying Music and Sound recording at the University of New Haven, and he plans to make a living out of selling music in the future. He is a humble guy, and is always busy outdoing himself, but his big soft heart can hold him back sometimes. Nevertheless, Aashh is ready to take all challenges that lie before him. He believes that his unique style in music can make a difference in this world so he will always stay relentless in his pursuits.
Daniela Perez is a queer, Puerto Rican English major with a concentration in writing at the University of New Haven. Her interests range anywhere from video games to musical theater to cartoons and role-playing games. Being involved in many popular sub genres in the ‘geek’ community, her reviews reflect the myriad of perspectives that live within the recesses of her mind. In the future, she plans to become a university professor, teaching Creative Writing or any other creatively driven writing course, but if she had her way, she would also be a professional writer either independently or working in the tabletop roleplaying industry. Her passion for writing can be attributed to one thought: When the clock stops ticking, my writing will still be here; therefore, so will I.
Taylor Ryan is currently a senior at the University of New Haven studying Criminal Justice Investigative Studies with a minor in Sociology. After graduating she intends to further her education in criminal justice at the University of Miami. Even though criminal justice requires many different forms of writing she has never written a review prior to this class. In her spare time, she enjoys going to the beach, spending time with her family, and painting. She enjoys reading about health and wellness, historical events, and criminal justice topics. When it comes to music, she has a wide variety of genres she enjoys such as rock, reggae, and country.
Gabrielle Siegel is currently a sophomore at the University of New Haven, but she aspires to be a therapist for struggling young adults. As a struggling young adult herself she distracts herself by binge watching the same Netflix shows over again and spending time with her friends who are struggling equally as much. She loves to read but never has enough time to do it and the only time she writes something is for a class. Gabrielle also enjoys spending time with family and friends driving around or lounging at the beach.
Shaylen Stancil is a junior at the University of New Haven studying Communications with a minor in Business Management. Her major concentration is Film Production, which is fitting because she enjoys finding new movies to love and obsess over. Writing is something she has grown to enjoy, and in the future, she wants to work as a screenwriter for TV and Film. In her free time, you can find her listening to her favorite artists, scrolling through Twitter or spending a little too much time adding shows and movies to her list on Netflix.
Tiara Starks is a junior Communication major with a concentration in Film Production. She is the Entertainment Editor for the University of New Haven’s student newspaper, the Charger Bulletin. Tiara enjoys speaking about social justice issues and how television, theatre, film, and music can help bring those issues to the forefront. She has a love for journalism and screenwriting and can almost always be found re-watching sitcoms from the 70s, 80s, and 90s or old seasons of Saturday Night Live.
