Meet the Students from the University of Texas

— -- Suyun Hong, bureau chief, is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin with a double major in broadcast journalism and English, and minor in German. Born in Incheon, South Korea, Hong moved with her family to Denton, Texas, when she was 1 year old. Her first venture into journalism was as a writer and editor-in-chief for her school's yearbook.

After reporting for the campus newspaper, The Daily Texan, for one semester, she spent two years working as producer and assistant news director for Texas Student Television's KVR News 9. Hong also spent a summer interning for CNN's On-Air Promotions department before moving on to intern as a multimedia journalist the following summer at Texas Watchdog, an investigative reporting website.

Hong is fluent in Korean and spent a year studying at Seoul National University. In her spare time, she enjoys reading non-fiction, listening to music and doing yoga.

Claire Carroll is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, with a double major in broadcast journalism and Plan II, an honors interdisciplinary liberal arts major unique to UT.

Claire's first internship was with the local CBS affiliate, and since then she's worked at the Daily Caller under political commentator Tucker Carlson and former Dick Cheney aide Neil Patel in Washington, D.C.; served as a student investigator for the University of Texas Law School's Actual Innocence Clinic; and anchored, produced and reported for UT's news program, Texas Newswatch.

Hailing from Tyler, Texas, Claire has also served in various leadership positions across campus, including vice president of special events of the Visor Chapter of Mortar Board, a national honor society. In her free time, Claire enjoys scuba diving, spearfishing and skiing.

Ashley Jennings is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin, with a double major in broadcast journalism and public relations, and a minor in international business. Her passion for reporting was inspired by her first journalism teacher at Bandera High School: her mom. A native of Bandera, Texas, Ashley served as sports writer for the town newspaper, The Bandera County Courier, as well as editor-in-chief of her high school yearbook.

Jennings has interned with stations in the San Antonio and Austin area, including News 4 WOAI and KXAN Austin News. She was responsible for interviewing in the field, editing on Avid and assisting reporters with script writing and photography. She currently anchors and reports for UT's award-winning news program, Texas Newswatch.

This past summer, Jennings worked in Dublin, Ireland, where she helped create a campaign to introduce the HPV vaccine to teenage girls across the country and launch communication on the topic.

Jennings serves as President of the College of Communication Council and is a member of Alpha Phi sorority. Outside of school, she enjoys horseback riding and traveling. When she graduates, Jennings hopes to pursue a career in international reporting.

Reshma Kirpalani worked as a page designer, photographer and arts columnist at the Boca Raton News after graduating in 2006 from the University of Miami with a communications degree. In 2008 she moved to Suriname, where she worked as a multimedia producer for a grassroots non-profit organization working with indigenous tribes in the Amazon rain forest. She also wrote the script for an award-winning documentary film about animal conservation called I Love Loesje, which aired in film festivals and on local television.

In Austin, Reshma has interned as an online reporter for KXAN Austin News and as a student editor at Texas Student Media. In her spare time, Reshma enjoys traveling, running and blogging.

Melanie Torre, a senior broadcast journalism major and business minor, was born and raised in Ft. Worth.

Since September 2007 she has been reporting for KVR News at Texas Student Television-- UT's student-run and FCC-licensed station. In May 2009 she was promoted to News Director and will serve in this role until graduation in 2011.

In November 2009 Torre became the first on-air intern for KEYE-TV (CBS Austin). For six months she pitched, wrote, shot and edited her own stories for their 4 p.m. show, "Austin Live."

Melanie also served as president of Texas Spirits, the university's women's service organization which was founded 70 years ago. She is currently serving as president of Texas Round Table, the university's council for current and former presidents of service and spirit groups at UT.

In her spare time Melanie enjoys traveling, gardening, and cheering on her favorite teams -- the Texas Longhorns and the LA Dodgers.