Shawn: Profile

Stephen Simurda, formerly from the Bronx, New York, now resides in North Hampton, Massachusetts with his sons, ages eight and sixteen. An avid Yankee fan, Simurda has become a student favorite as a professor of Journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Graduating from a local college, Hampshire College, Simurda spent his years with a concentration in Journalism. Leaving Hampshire College for one year, Simurda traveled to Seabrook, New Hampshire, to protest against Seabrook Nuclear Power plant, and the usage of nuclear power. “I was among the 1,414 people arrested for trespassing. It was really fun”, he said.
After graduating from Hampshire College, Simurda continued his education at Columbia University in New York City. Simurda was involved in starting Amherst Weekly News, where he worked as a production managers “I was in charge of a lot of things, but I didn’t write,” he said. Simurda’s journalistic career moved him across the country to San Francisco, California, where he worked for the Associated Press. In his time as a journalist, Simurda has worked for newspapers in Springfield, Massachusetts as well. “My first journalism job was working for my high school newspaper, I wrote for the sports section. I believe I was paid $2.00 per game, but $5.00 for football games.” Simurdas interest in journalism began in his elementary days, when at the age of eight he started a newspaper for his elementary school. “I have no idea why I became a journalist. I just always wanted to. It was just one of those things,” he said.