Darren Epping-Fuentes
Leadership Instructor
Darren Epping-Fuentes is the Associate Director for Undergraduate Programs and Engagement at the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication. With 20 years of teaching experience, Darren specializes in interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, conflict management, and group communication. A former college speech and debate coach, Darren coached several individual national champions and led multiple teams to top 10 finishes.
Beyond the classroom, Darren has extensive leadership experience, having served in multiple capacities within the American Forensics Association National Speech Tournament committee, most recently as the vice chair of the executive committee. Committed to student growth, he wants to help students understand how communication impacts themselves and others to build successful teams.
Kristy Nyp, CJE, Manhattan High School
Writing Instructor
Nyp advises yearbook, video production, newspaper and online news for Manhattan High School. Her publications have won multiple All-Kansas and All-American awards in her eight years since at MHS. At the 2018 JEA/NSPA National Fall Conference The Mentor, MHS’s weekly newspaper, earned ninth place in the Best In Show contest. Nyp is the current president of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association. Before becoming an adviser in 2005, she spent 15 years working in the media industry. Her hobbies are running, proofreading everything she reads (especially social media posts and public signs) and consuming stories in the form of books, movies, articles, videos and any other form they come in.
Nick Homburg, Kansas State University
Photography Instructor
Hello, my name is Nick Homburg,
I am originally from Idaho where I spent 30 plus years working as a documentary photographer, film maker, and entrepreneur. I have four daughters, and seven grandchildren; six of which are girls, the one grandson of course is spoiled rotten.
I currently work as a professor of practice for the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kansas State University. At K-State I teach photography, video and audio production, and drone journalism. It has been said I get to play with all the cool toys, and I must say they are right. As fun as photography, video and audio are, the drones take all of this to new heights.
Barb Tholen, Lawrence High School
Advising Instructor
Barbara Tholen is finally graduating from high school after 15 years at Lawrence HIgh, and will become the executive director of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association in August. As a high school journalism teacher, she’s loved working with ambitious journalism students who asked tough questions and challenged the status quo. She knows high school students can produce reporting every bit as important as what she did during her 10 years as a newspaper reporter. Tholen was a 2022 Kansas Master Teacher recipient, 2023 JEA Distinguished Yearbook Adviser and a proud mama adviser. She’ll be spending most of her summer kayaking, paddleboarding and dreaming of ways to make scholastic journalism in Kansas even stronger.
Linda Puntney
Design Instructor
Linda Puntney began her career teaching at the high school level at Fort Osage High School, then William Chrisman High School. She taught classes such as Journalism I, Journalism II, English, Newspaper Production, and Yearbook Production as well as advised the yearbook and newspaper at both schools. She moved onto advising collegiate media at Northwest Missouri State, where she advised the yearbook and weekly newspaper and taught Feature Writing, Design, and Law and Ethics.