Amanda Brennan knew she wanted to be a journalist since photographing her brother’s sporting events in middle school. That passion grew into joining the high school yearbook, and ultimately studying journalism. Amanda joined the WCIA 3 team in June 2022 and is excited to be in Illinois. She was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, and is a proud Illini, graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May 2022. While at U of I, she graduated with a degree in journalism, a minor in public relations and an emphasis on areas in both art and design, and recreation, sports and tourism. She was also a member of the Marching Illini Color Guard, the Society of Professional Journalists president, a photographer at the Illini Union and extremely active as a producer, reporter and anchor in many student broadcasts. Through her journalistic work, she has earned honors as a Board of Governors’ scholarship recipient through the NATAS Chicago foundation. In college, she earned the Bill Geist Broadcasting Journalism Writing Prize, which is awarded to a senior studying journalism. In Oct. 2024, she earned a Silver Dome Award for “best feature story” in a medium market for her story taking the audience into a “day in the life of a Marching Illini member.” Amanda enjoys traveling, watching both Illini Athletics and the Chicago Cubs, and exploring Central Illinois. She hopes to visit all 50 states one day!

Zak Kolar graduated from MVHS in 2014 and studied computer science and education at Brandeis University. He lives in Waltham, MA where he is an elementary school digital learning teacher and programmer/materials developer with the Education Development Center. Outside of school, he enjoys reading, photography, and spending time with family and friends.