Staff

Nikki Roberti

Editor-in-Chief

Nikki Roberti is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of REALITY Check Girl Magazine, conceptualizing the idea back when she was in high school. As a teenage girl, she had trouble finding a magazine that truly related and applied to her real life. Especially when trying to balance her faith and love for God as a Christian with other things she enjoyed as a normal teen growing up in society (ie. beauty and boys), she felt like sometimes girl magazines were too much “cupcakes and rainbows.”

Her love for journalism began back in the early 90s when she used to watch the television series “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” immediately falling in love with her hero Lois Lane. At age 13, she was the youngest journalist to write for the mother newspaper of USA Today,  Florida Today’s Verge section where she contributed for 5 years. She is nationally known as a Newspaper Association of America Teen Fellow and the female Florida recipient of the Al Neuharth Free Spirit Scholarship for journalism in 2007. She also helped Poynter Institute develop an online course on how to train teen journalists.

Studying journalism at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC., Nikki wrote for the campus newspaper, The Appalachian, as a Lifestyles Reporter and religion columnist for two years, a copy editor for one year, and is currently the Online Editor. She also works as the professional videographer for the Michael Alvarado Band.

Though a journalist through and through, Nikki does surprisingly have a life and enjoys cooking anything and everything, especially cheesecake and Italian food thanks to her heritage. She is also a 7-time award winning playwright with 25 performances of her work under her belt in areas including Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, The Kennedy Center in D.C., Virginia, California, and on Broadway Road in NYC. Like Lois Lane is her journalism hero, Neil Simon is her inspiration as a playwright.

Nikki loves people and seldom sleeps, so if you ever want to talk, shoot her an email at editor.realitycheckgirlmagazine@gmail.com

RESPECT

Editor: Michelle Golden

Michelle Golden is a senior Writing, Literature and Publishing major at Emerson College working towards her Bachelor of Fine Arts. A transfer from Ithaca College in upstate New York, Michelle moved to the center of the Theatre District right outside of the Boston Common at the beginning of her sophomore year. Besides in class, she can be found downtown editing away at articles, transcribing interviews, or reviewing submissions in the Teen Voices magazine office. Additionally, Michelle is the relationships editor for em magazine, Emerson’s only campus lifestyle publication and previously one of the features writers. She has interned at OK! Magazine in New York in the beauty department and will be interning at Us Weekly and Allure during winter break and spring semester, respectively. Michelle has been actively involved in Music Unites, a non-profit based in New York City that raises awareness and funding for music programs in inner-city schools. She has created and is currently implementing the Music Unites on Campus College Representative Program. In addition for her love to keep busy, Michelle enjoys the company of her black and white cat she has named Miley. Email her at michelle_golden@emerson.edu if you want to sing about having the best of both worlds.

ELEGANCE

Editor: Katelyn Stark

Katelyn Stark is a sophomore at Appalachian State University. She came to Boone to follow love but ended up finding God, great friends, and a place to call home. She is currently majoring in history – secondary education. Some people think she’s crazy for wanting to spend the rest of my life in high school but, on the contrary, she can’t wait for the challenge. She has a beautiful family, wonderful parents who are more in love then ever, and two extraordinary sisters who are her best friends. She is also very involved in InterVaristy Christian Fellowship, which is a great campus ministry at ASU. Reading is also a huge component in my life. I am always reading at least two books at one time and force my favorites onto my friends.  I enjoy hiking but will never sleep outside, college football season is my highlight of fall, and spreading the love of Christ is my passion. I believe that loving others is the most important thing one can do in life, and forgiveness, along with grace, are huge components of that.

AMBITION

Editor: Catey Gonzalez

Catey Gonzalez is a 19-year-old sophomore pursuing a Creative Writing degree at Appalachian State University. Her ultimate goal is to become an author and to teach Creative Writing at a university, both of which she thinks God has been nudging her towards for years. Catey has lived in Boone for over half her life now and, though she doesn’t like having to drive several hours for Chili’s, she absolutely loves it here. She also absolutely loves singing, laughing, knitting, authors John Green and Nicole Krauss, Nancy Drew PC games, coloring with Sharpies, and the best TV show ever made: Doctor Who. Even more than those things, she loves her hilarious family and her best friends, Kyle Miller and Jesus Christ.

LOVE

Editor: Emily Herring Dunn

Emily grew up in a very close-knit family: her father (a minister), her mother (the editor of Resepect), and two sisters- one older, one younger. Since birth Emily has never known anything but the love of her family and the love of Christ.

Moving from her parents love to love for her own family, Emily married her high school sweetheart and is still happily married. The two are working hard in school as well as loving unconditionally and growing up together, with the intention of growing old together.
Wanting to write since childhood and gaining the attention of teachers, family friends, and close acquaintances, she is currently working on two novels (and another idea in the making). Making sure she has a back up, her plan is to teach English to middle schoolers or high schoolers until she makes her break as an author (or magazine editor/writer).

Emily is always available to help with relationships and minister as well as God allows her. Although her signature column is “Married in College” she will be more than happy to make exceptions and answer questions or concerns about any sort of relationship. Feel free to e-mail her at love.realitycheckgirlmagazine@gmail.com

INTELLECT

Editor: Laura tabor

TASTE

Editor: (Hiring)

Fashion Editor: (Hiring)

YOUTHFULNESS

Editor: (Hiring)

Contributing Writers

Kelli Curtis

Nicholette von Riche

Nicholette von Reiche is the writer of food columns “Diva Dinners” and “On the low down”. She lives in Manhattan and describes herself as an obsessed foodie who likes anything related to food, food writing, décor, styling, recipe development, food photography and testing and tasting new food. She has a keen interest in style and designs in all their forms. She currently freelances as a recipe developer, food writer, food stylist and consultant.

Nicholette studied Food Science and Nutrition at Cape Town University of Technology (CPUT) in South Africa. Her career in the media industry started when she interned for Ideas Magazine. This creative living magazine is a one stop guide to fresh, modern living for woman with creative flair, woman who love to entertain and beautify their homes with their own unique style. Today Nicholette has freelanced for other food magazines, has worked in events, retail, food recruitment, is skilled in styling, recipe and menu development and much more but she says the Ideas Magazine motto has stuck with her. She likes to take something mundane and make it extraordinary. She aspires to give her readers practical, creative content and strives toward making her work an inspiration of décor, entertainment and food.

Nicholette’s services and examples of her work can be viewed on her website at www.nicholette.biz. Also view her food blog at www.blog.nicholette.biz.

Ronesha Dennis

Ronesha Dennis is a 20 year old, junior journalism major at Howard University. She is an avid reader and music-lover, with shopping, writing and creating poetry as her hobbies. Born in New Orleans where she received “substandard” preparation for journalism, Ronesha one day hopes to start a magazine for students in her hometown so they can obtain the skills she didn’t have the opportunity to learn when she was younger. When Ronesha is not studying or being active on her school’s campus, she is likely watching TV in her dorm room, or out enjoying the District of Columbia with friends. Her favorite stops are the Smithsonian museums and Dupont Circle.

Katherine J. Chen

Katherine J. Chen is a sophomore at Princeton University, where she is majoring in English with a certificate in Creative Writing. She wishes some day to become a blend of David Remnick, Harold Bloom, Anna Wintour, and Northrop Frye. Her dream job is to work as a fiction or poetry editor at “The New Yorker,” a magazine she reads religiously from cover to cover, including all the ads. She is obsessed with writing and editing and maintains what she calls a “Truman Capote” schedule of practicing her art form no less than 2-3 hours every day. These days, Katherine works as a freelance writer, editor, and intern for a variety of magazines, websites, and blogs. When she is not slaving away at her computer, Katherine can be found watching her vast collection of BBC comedies or playing with her 5-year-old Maltese, Einstein.

Joy Smith

November 29, 1988 is a day that will live in infamy. Okay, not INFAMY, but maybe it will become ridiculously well-known after I am world-famous and have a national holiday in my honor. Or maybe it will only be important to my poor mother who had to suffer through nine months with me and my restless limbs. My name is Joy, but almost everyone in the world calls me Joy Beth or JB. I am a voracious reader, avid writer, and neglectful student. I am a Junior English major at Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA), and I absolutely love it here. My goal is to eventually teach… or edit… or write novels… or short stories…. or a magazine column. You get the idea. I’m just your typical girl taking life one day at a time, all the while trying to impress the only Man that matters.

Sophia Vilceus

My name is Sophia Vilceus, a current junior at CUNY City College of New York with a major in English with a concentration in creative writing, with a cumulative GPA of a 3.8.

As a young child my first two languages were both English and Creole. By the time I was placed in elementary school, I had tremendous difficulties not intertwining and confusing the two languages and actually had to be placed in ESL (although I was born in New York). I believe by trying to perfect these two languages at a young age, my love of language, words, and writing blossomed—by merely attempting to better my communication skills, I in turn met my first love, which was words.
I aspire to become a renowned writer, a person who is respected and admired for her craft, one who leaves a lasting imprint on literature itself.

Arielle Sobov

Arielle Sobov is a senior journalism major at Quinnipiac University. You can usually find her shopping at local boutiques or laughing at her own jokes. Extremely energetic and positive, Arielle is always looking for an adventure or something new to try. She is an absolute Jersey girl at heart and one day wants to go on tour with a band. A passion for writing and journalism since the day she learned how to hold a pen, she can’t wait to make her break into the magazine world. She is inspired by strong women, good taste in fashion and people who are not afraid to express themselves. In a few words, Arielle is a small girl with a huge heart and even bigger dreams.

Amy Marturana

Amy Marturana is a sophomore at Syracuse University.  She is a Magazine Journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.  Amy plans to also major in Spanish, and is going to spend a semester abroad in Spain.  She is also completing a focus in Fashion and Beauty Communications, since she loves everything about clothes and fashion.  Amy’s family is the most important thing in the world to her, and she is so thankful to have such amazing, loving people in her life.  She is also proud to be a member of the Chi chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta, and is lucky to have awesome friends she can call sisters.  Amy loves to travel, and hopes to snag a job after she graduates that will allow her to do a lot of it (Oh hey, National Geographic ;] ).  When Amy isn’t busy with schoolwork or working at Forever 21, she is either relaxing spending time with friends, hanging out with her mom, listening to Britney Spears (don’t judge), dancing or eating (most likely something very unhealthy).  She is also an active member of comm.Unity, a communications club at SU that does free work for local non-profit organizations.  Amy writes for the Elegance and Ambition beats of REALITY Check Girl, so check out her articles every month!

Janie Dumbleton

Janie Dumbleton is a junior at the University of Georgia where she studies English and Religion. After graduating college she aspires to attend graduate school and pursue writing and design careers. She enjoys volunteering in her community and when free time works itself into her schedule; she loves to create by knitting, sewing, embroidering, and any other crafty activity. Alongside writing and crafting, photography is a new hobby quickly working its way into her favorite activities. Ferris wheels, wind chimes, Polaroid’s, and puns are some of her favorite points of inspiration. Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, she loves sunny days and the prosperity of nature. Her free-spirited attitude allows her to see life as a journey with avenues always open. She is extremely excited about REALITY Check and its future and writes for the Fashion and Respect portions of the magazine.

Courtney Miller

Courtney Miller is a junior journalism major at Ithaca College in New York.  She enjoys water sports in the summer with her best friend, film-making and over-analyzing television shows.  She is most relaxed when she swims and most energized in a crowd of a thousand rocking out to tobyMac.  Her floor is scattered with old issues of Vogue and Vanity Fair and she has a Roger Federer Beanie bear perched on the bookshelf.  She grew up on a steady diet of Veggie Tales and Roma Downey out in the midwest and wants to travel the world.

Laura Blythe

Laura Blythe is a junior Creative Writing major at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Her ultimate goal in life is undetermined, but she’s convinced it will have something to do with children and writing, two of her greatest loves. Between writing for class and for fun, her awesome campus ministry and the amazing youth group she’s blessed to work with, Laura has little spare time. But when she can find a minute, she’s usually in the kitchen baking, cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals, or discussing theology with any one of her wonderful friends. She takes comfort each day in knowing that her life is in the capable hands of her Savior, who will never leave her side.

Laura Kuhns

Laura Kuhns is a senior at Appalachian State University majoring in Chemistry and minoring in Criminal Law and Biology.  Though it seems like a daunting task, Laura continuous reminds herself of her higher calling to be a mission Pharmacist to those who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ.  When it comes to the things that bring her great joy, she loves: to listen to music, watch Gilmore Girls, and crazy adventures on the Blue Ridge Parkway, whenever the opportunity arises.  The shelves in her room are always full of Jane Austin’s greatest works and any book that might help her escape for a few moments.  Without going into illustrious detail, Laura is simply a woman who longs to follow the Lord and all He has in store for her life.

Kelly Grenfell

Kelly Grenfell works full-time at Azusa Pacific University. She is the Program Coordinator for their Center of Global Learning and Engagement office (Basically study abroad office) Her basic work duties involve meeting with students for advising appointments, processing paperwork, planning events, learning about new countries and programs, and pulling pranks on her co-workers. She graduated from Azusa Pacific University May 2009 with a B.A. in Journalism and minor in Psychology. She misses her college friends immensely, but is happy to be living in Southern California again, so long as the sun is shining. I need my Vitamin D! In her free time she likes to go to the gym, read Marie Claire, collect classic literature, hang out with friends, waste time on Facebook, eat chocolate, catch up on her MANY TV show addictions (i.e. Gossip Girl, SYTYCD, Glee, The Office, and is anxiously awaiting the return of Chuck and LOST), and of course write for REALITY Check every month.