Casey Feldman, 21, of Springfield, PA, a senior at Fordham University and an award-winning student journalist, died July 17 at the Atlantic City Memorial Hospital from injuries sustained when she was struck by a van in Ocean City, N.J.
Feldman was born April 6, 1988, the daughter of Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson and the sister of Brett Feldman.
She was raised in Springfield and graduated from Springfield High School in 2006. An honors student, Feldman was multi-talented, acting in theater productions and singing in the chorus. She poured most of her energy into writing and journalism, anchoring the school's news program, writing and editing the school newspaper and serving as senior editor of the yearbook. She also was the lead critic from Springfield High School for the Greater Philadelphia Region Cappies, a theater review and writing program.
Feldman also graduated from the News Studies internship program at KYW News Radio and completed an internship at CBS Channel 3 Television News during her high school years. Feldman earned the Pennsylvania National Merit Commended Student award, among other academic distinctions.
Frank McKnight, principal of Springfield High School and Feldman’s fifth grade teacher, said, “Casey was a wonderful person overall, and she had so many friends because she was genuinely kind to everyone. I know her family is equally liked by the community. The whole school community is grieving for the Feldman family.”
Soon after arriving at Fordham, where Feldman majored in communication and media studies, she joined The Observer, the newspaper at the Manhattan campus, getting her first news bylines as a freshman, becoming an assistant news editor as a sophomore and news editor as a junior. In June, she was named a finalist for the 2009 Chandler Award for Student Writer of the Year in Religion, sponsored by the Religion Newswriters Association. During her time at Fordham, Feldman continued to secure internships, earning bylines from amNew York and Philadelphia Style. This fall, she was to have begun an internship at NY1, a Manhattan-based television station.
"Casey was an enormously talented, endlessly curious and deeply ethical young reporter," said Elizabeth Stone, a journalism professor at Fordham and faculty advisor to the campus paper. "She knew a good story idea when she saw it, she had her Google alerts in place to make sure she didn't miss it, and she had the energy and skill to turn a good idea into a publishable article. Casey's friends knew that her favorite quote was a line of H.L. Mencken's--'I know of no human being who has a better time than an eager and energetic young reporter.' And I know of no eager and energetic young reporter who took that more to heart than Casey.”
During her time as a student in Manhattan, Feldman made time to volunteer at the West End homeless shelter, Momentum Soup Kitchen, and Animal Haven Shelter.
Viewing will be Wednesday July 22 6-8pm at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, 215 Belmont Avenue, Bala Cynwyd.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in Feldman’s name can be made to the Springfield High School Student Theater Workshop, 49 West Leamy Ave., Springfield, PA 19064.
Be the first to comment on this article!