Nicole Ross- Fencer from Daniel Woolfolk on Vimeo.

June 4, 2010- Becoming Columbia University Student Athlete of the Month is quite an honor. It is also a feat Nicole Ross, a fencer and Upper West Side native, has earned twice in 2010.

In March, she became the National Collegiate Athletic Association fencing champion in the foil, her competition weapon. Last year, at the 2009 Junior World Fencing Championships in Belfast, Ross helped the United States team’s first world win in her event, women’s foil fencing. “It was super exciting and gratifying for me,” said Ross, who will be fencing at the New York World Cup of Fencing June 18-20.

Ross graduated from Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School on West 93rd Street.

Chasen Marshall and me. The cord is for being a veteran. Photo by Joel Meares.

This week, I graduated from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.  I have a few career options I am weighing and will update soon, hopefully.

Photo: Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times

Here and here are some audio posts I produced for Lens, the photojournalism blog of The New York Times.

Giovanni Falco, a barber at Astor Place Hairstylist in New York City, gives Antonio Mongiovi, a real estate agent, a short cut.

I shot a barber who cuts bald men’s hair at Astor Place near New York University for this story on Columbia News Service.

Professor Herman of The Wall Street Journal showing our class ground zero through the building he was in.

On Monday, my business and economics reporting class went off and toured Wall Street.  We even got onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and saw the gold at the fed.  This was among the highlights of my school year.

Yes, Aries usually does wear shades. (iPhone photo shot with Shake It Photo application.)

Today, I turned in my Master’s Project, which is Columbia Journalism School’s version of a thesis: a 5,000 word magazine piece. Mine was on Aries, a service dog that helps his owner deal with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Because I’ve been doing so much writing at school, I haven’t shot photos for this or other stories. I’ll probably shoot towards the end of the semester, but, for right now, I’m focusing on getting the most of my writing instruction at Columbia.  Graduation is in May.

From journalism.columbia.edu

I’ll be in Tucson with the New York Times Institute the first two weeks of January.  Here’s the story my school ran.

In one day, Panaderia Caotzingo bakery produces 270 pieces of pan de muerto, Spanish for "bread of the dead."

Nushin Rashidian and I recently spent an evening at a Mexican bakery in Queens preparing for The Day of the Dead. Check out our story at nyfoodchain.com.

Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch is back to work at his Manhattan office near Times Square after undergoing a quadruple bypass surgery in June. (Photo: Daniel Woolfolk)

My friend Joel Meares and I interviewed former Mayor Ed Koch in his Manhattan office for a story on eating on the campaign trail for nyfoodchain.com. The Huffington Post picked it up as did the Columbia Journalist. It’s got another portrait.