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By Hannah Stewart (Comm’19)

From his office, Chuck Plunkett can sometimes hear conversations from the conference room next door.��

Often, it was a voice he came to recognize—his student, Lincoln Roch.

“I was impressed at his skill at working the phones,” said Plunkett, an associate teaching professor of journalism. “Every now and then, I would wander over and just chat with him about his technique.”��

Plunkett has worked in newsrooms nationwide, so knows what he’s talking about when it comes to telephone techniques. But that’s not the only reason he expects Roch to succeed as a journalist.

“I noticed right away that he had a lot of skill as a reporter, and a lot of drive. And you need both of those to be a successful journalist,” he said.

Roch has already found success after transferring into CMCI’s journalism program just last fall. He previously attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, but after two years in their program, craved a change.

Roch estimates he spent at least 10 hours on the ground following McMillan and her opponent, Woog, as they spoke to undecided voters. Photo by Lincoln Roch; originally appeared in The Colorado Sun.

“CU was really the only place I considered transferring to—I grew up in Louisville and wanted to be close to home and friends,” Roch said. “I really love it here. I didn’t realize how many opportunities this school provides that I couldn’t get before.”

He quickly got to work integrating himself into the campus community—joining student media outlets like Sko Buffs Sports and the CU Independent, as well as the club freeskiing team. He also picked up a sports media minor and began internships at multiple publications, including the��Daily Camera and Estes Valley Voice.

Roch’s passion for journalism goes back to his days contributing to Monarch High School’s student newspaper. In addition to covering general school news, he also wrote stories about the 2018 government shutdown and journalism’s role in preserving democracy, sparking a passion for political reporting.

His big break into the field came last fall, when he heard about PTA president-turned state representative candidate Jillare McMillan’s campaign for the District 19 seat. This was one of the most closely watched—and tightest—races in the 2024 state elections, and she ultimately lost to the Republican candidate, Dan Woog. But it was an unforgettable experience for Roch, who was looking for a dynamite story for his class with Plunkett.

“I thought, ‘This is just like Kamala Harris and what happened with her.’ But this woman has no campaign infrastructure. This woman is starting with no political experience, no staff, no money, and less time to pull this off,” he said. “So I pursued it, and it just kept getting more interesting.”

Soon, he learned that the new candidate, McMillan, was a Mormon endorsed by Planned Parenthood, and her campaign manager was a CU �鶹ӰԺ junior. Her opponent was a Republican interested in renewable energy, who had previously held the District 19 seat but lost it in 2022.

Roch said covering the District 19 race was the hardest he ever worked on a story. Photo by Lincoln Roch; originally appeared in The Colorado Sun.

“It was so fun to write and especially being on the ground, I probably spent 10 hours literally following them while they knocked on doors,” Roch said. “That’s the hardest I’d ever worked on the story because I wanted to tell just how unique of a story it was.”

With a little help from Plunkett, who is also the director of CU News Corps, Roch contacted politics editor Jesse Paul from The Colorado Sun—who worked with Plunkett at��The Denver Post—to��. Seeing his story on the front page of what he considered to be the “gold standard of journalism in this state” was an exciting moment for Roch, and one that reinforced that this was the profession he wanted to do for “the rest of my life.”

After receiving an email from student media director Vicky Sama about submissions to the Hearst Feature Writing Competition, Roch submitted his story for consideration and ultimately received an honorable mention for his reporting.

“I see him working with other students and mentoring them, helping them navigate the world of journalism in these really tough times,” said Sama, an associate teaching professor of journalism. “So there’s something to be said about his passion and commitment to the profession. I think that’s admirable.”

This recognition helped, in part, to motivate him to further his involvement with CU journalism. Together with some other students, Roch pushed to reestablish the CU �鶹ӰԺ chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

“We all wanted an opportunity to, outside of classes, network with professional journalists and learn from them,” Roch said. “Each week, we’re going to try and bring in someone and have them share their insights, put on some workshops, talk about ethics and teach people how to improve their skills.”

As part of the effort, he connected with the SPJ Colorado president and helped organize the first three meetings.

“Lincoln has meant a lot to the program—he’s very much a significant contributor,” Plunkett said. “It kind of felt like a full-circle thing to now be teaching the next generation of Jesse Pauls and to see Lincoln, a definite contender for a future job in a newsroom like the Sun, making a connection with Jesse.”