Ted Regencia, Neighbor

Ted Regencia is a would-be graduate student in journalism.

At present he is a freelance multimedia journalist with the AOL website Patch.com, the Chinese news agency Xinhua, the Filipino American TV station The Filipino Channel and Philippine News.

His most recent works include an interview with then-outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, an article on civil union in Illinois and a series on the tornado tragedy in Joplin, Missouri.

As a reporter for an ethnic Filipino publication PINOY Newsmagazine, he landed his biggest interview so far with then-US Senate candidate Barack Obama in 2004. In early 2007, he braved the bitter cold to cover Obama’s presidential campaign kickoff in Springfield, Illinois. He also covered Obama’s pivotal victory in Iowa and was present at Grant Park in Chicago on the historic night of November 4, 2008.

He considers himself a modern nomad, which suits just right with his deep journalistic passion.

In 2001, he was one of the youngest reporters to cover the impeachment trial of former Philippine president Joseph Estrada and the military-backed popular revolt that followed. At one point, he stayed up for 48 hours straight to cover and report about the uprising.

He graduated with a mass communication degree, cum laude, from Silliman University in the Philippines. While in college, he earned a scholarship to study at the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan.

Ted loves to travel. At 19 he slept outside Rome’s Stazione Termini to save his money for admission to the Sistine Chapel. However, he lost his moxie to swim the frigid waters of Tiber. Despite his fear of heights, he mustered enough courage to do the Almighty Hermes jump in Wisconsin Dells.

After graduation, Ted hopes to cover the Middle East, Afghanistan and Asia and report about stories of regular people affected by the many triumphs and turmoils that happen every day in those regions.

I can be reached at tedregencia@yahoo.com

<strong>“Work now, tweet later.”</strong>