Weddings, Weddings, Weddings

So many weddings!

Saturday my friends Nick and Kayla, now Mr. and Mrs. Burt, got married! It was a nice ceremony and Kayla looked gorgeous. Alicia even cried as Kayla walked down the aisle to the song from The Holiday. *sigh*

The food at the reception was delicious and even though the sound system wasn't working correctly, the dances were beautiful.

Congratulations Nick and Kayla!

And in less than a week I will be flying to San Fransisco to get ready for Kimi's wedding on August 8.

You people are making me feel old.

The Burts' first dance

The kiddos hanging out at the reception. From left, Alex Rice, Cierra Kierstead (I know I spelled that wrong), Alicia Bosse, me, Christian Turner

All of my pictures can be found here.

The Rev. Kocher Chosen as Chaplain

We have a new chaplain!

Kocher to be university's next chaplain

I was working on the story on Adnan Hajizada yesterday when I got a call: "They picked a chaplain." And we're off!

I called Rev. Kocher and he called me back not long after that. We were sent a press release and about 10 minutes later President Ayers sent out an e-mail. We were scooped! But it's OK. We had the interview with Kocher and the VERY large, spiffy picture on the homepage.

On a personal, opinion-section note, I am very pleased with the decision. As you know, I had a chance to interview both candidates and their colleagues and I felt Kocher would be an excellent fit at Richmond. He seems to connect with students. He has quite a trial in front of him, since this will be his first time serving as the chaplain, but I think Richmond and Rev. Kocher will benefit from this appointment.

Exclusive Interview with Hajizada's Girlfriend; Judge Rejects Appeal

Updated stories on Adnan Hajizada, arrested on charges of hooliganism in his native Azerbaijan, where he is a political activist.

Professors sign letter supporting Hajizada as pretrial hearing delayed to July 20

Girlfriend says injuries untreated as judge rejects detention appeal

Dan Petty and I worked on the story last night, with me sending him what I had at about 1:30 a.m. California time (he's in Denver). Then I got a text message saying Hajizada's girlfriend had sent him a very long message right about then. Apparently Dan stayed up until about 5 a.m. to finish and post this story. Go Dan! You are good at what you do.

Hajizada's Acitivism Began at Richmond, father says

We have an updated story on Adnan Hajizada.

I had the opportunity to interview his father, Hikmet Hajizada, for this story. It was difficult because the call was dropped about three times and my voice was echoing in my ear, but it was an amazing experience.

The story has been picked up by U-Wire, the Associated Press for college newspapers, the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the blog Near West End News.

UR Alum Turned Activist Arrested

A University of Richmond alumnus was arrested in Azerbaijan possibly for speaking out against the government. Story HERE.

I got a text message last night at 11:30 about this story and have been working on it since, with a few hours of sleep in between. It's pretty exciting and we will continue to update it.

And my body hates me more than I thought it would. It was just one kickboxing class and one spin class. I'm sorry!

Oh, and I got another tattoo. I will put up pictures when it's healed and looks prettier.

The Search for a New Chaplain

The Collegian has been covering the University of Richmond's search for a new chaplain. It has been great to be able to interview the candidates and their colleagues, even though I cannot be in Richmond. The Chaplaincy is hoping to have video up of the forums that were held with each candidate.

So here they are so far. There's one more article to go.

In forum, finalist for chaplain says he would welcome, support all in community

Experience of past exclusion drives chaplain finalist’s desire for inclusive campus

For Kocher, chaplaincy should gracefully engage questions of difference