Meet the Indy Staff

Intern's tenacity pays off

Sometimes a little stroke of luck can go a long way.

Leslee Rasco Who: Sophomore English Major, West Texas A&M University Hometown: Amarillo; Amarillo High School Community Involvement: Invisible Children; First Baptist Church

Leslee Rasco always knew she had an interest in journalism, but she wasn't quite sure how to become a hard-charging reporter.

Then one day last summer she was talking to her friend Marit Adams.

Adams just happened to have begun working with The Amarillo Independent as an intern.

It was only a matter of days before Rasco had an appointment with Indy editor and publisher George Schwarz.

The rest is rapidly becoming journalistic and personal history for Rasco.

A sophomore English major at West Texas A&M University, Rasco has good skills with the written word, an even stronger nose for news and a bulldog tenacity for chasing down and investigating the details of stories.

A few months ago Rasco worked on a story about travel expenses incurred by Potter County commissioners — an article that demonstrated one commissioner chalked up big travel dollars.

Late last year she broke a story for The Amarillo Independent about the WT radio station's problems with the Federal Communications Commission.

Subsequently, that story was picked up by the news departments of two local television stations.

She's also worked on some feature stories and profiles of area residents.

In addition to her academic work and her budding talent for journalism, Rasco works with a nonprofit organization called Invisible Children.

This group is dedicated to raising awareness about the war in northern Uganda and the corresponding circumstances that frequently force children to become soldiers in that war.

She is a part of the First Baptist Church college ministry and belongs to a small community group called "the Stone."

The Amarillo High School graduate plans to attend journalism school at some point in the near future.

"I've never had any formal training as a journalist," Rasco said. "But that just goes to show that if you have a heart and a passion for something you can make it happen."

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Posted: January 17, 2008