Patrick Skelly is a senior majoring in East Asian Languages and Cultures, emphasis in Japanese, with a minor in Global Marketing and Honors in Multimedia. Born and raised in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, he plans on transitioning to LA for the foreseeable future. Patrick is the Monday night host of “Platforum” and as such discusses entertainment, which is where his future career plans lie. In addition to hosting “Platforum” at Trojan Vision, he has anchored numerous times for the show, was a former host of “CU@USC,” is involved in a new sitcom about dorm life, is a Trojan Vision editor and the Executive Producer of “The Cutting Edge.” His ideal career would be producing and writing TV, film, video games, comics and novels, with maybe some acting and directing.

Nancy Chen is studying international relations, East Asian languages and cultures and news media and society. She is currently interning at KABC in Los Angeles and has worked at NBC News in Beijing, Good Morning America in Los Angeles and Oklahoma News Report in Oklahoma City. Nancy will be returning to Beijing this summer as a production associate for NBC Sports during the Olympics. As the managing editor of US-China Today, she launched the online newsmagazine from the USC U.S.-China Institute. Nancy is also a member of Gamma Phi Beta Sorority, Associated Trustee and Presidential Scholars and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society.

Beth Palkovic is thrilled to return as Wednesday's host of the political edition of Platforum. Palkovic currently interns for KNBC's political unit, for which she has helped with the 2008 Presidential election coverage. At Trojan Vision, Palkovic dedicates her time to Annenberg TV News and has also previously held the position of Platforum's executive producer and nightly crew member. Palkovic is a junior broadcast journalism and psychology double major, looking forward to law school and a career in journalism focusing on law and politics.

Matt Helbacka started his college career at USC, and after a detour at DePaul University's Digital Cinema program, and opening up Ralph Lauren's Rugby line in Chicago, he is back in Los Angeles as a sophomore in the School of Cinematic Arts going for his B.A. in Cinema & Television. Matt was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota; as the subject of his particular Platforum night suggests, Matt spent most of his time playing sports. From a young age, Matt was writing stories, skits, and plays; and by his high school days he was a major contributer to the student run assemblies and digital videos. Alongside hosting Platforum's Sports Night, Matt is an actor and staff writer on the developmental sitcom for Trojan Vision, The Dorm Life.

Leah is a MA student in Critical Studies at USC School of Cinematic Arts. She intends to earn her PhD in Critical Studies and become a university professor in film and television. Leah’s writings have included papers on memory, trauma, recovery, (re)claiming identity, invisibility, healing, power, control, and justice. Other issues and interests in her writing include: the intersections of androgyny, race, and rock n’ roll; the ethics of conflict zone photojournalism; and how race in America impacts television syndication practices. Leah currently holds a BA in English Literature/Creative Writing from USC, and an MFA in Screenwriting from UCLA. She has one daughter, Brenna.