Yohanes Ashenafi: The ‘pulse’ of the MSU Reporter

If you’ve been a part of Maverick Athletics in the past few years, you’ve probably noticed Yohanes Ashenafi diligently snapping action shots on the sidelines. If you’ve ever answered in the Reporter’s weekly Pulse questions and had your best side captured on camera, it was probably Yohanes behind the lens. Yohanes is the reason so many events—spontaneous or planned—have made their way onto the pages of the Reporter. We’ve all said “Cheese!”, and now it’s time to say “Thank You” to Yohanes Ashenafi.

Nicole Schmidt, News:
I have had the pleasure of working with Yohanes this year. One thing that I can say about him is that he never fails to make me smile or laugh. His happy spirit is contagious. Even though I was slow at getting the Pulse question to him, I know that he was genuinely excited to talk to people about the question I chose.

Yohanes has a unique personality, and an even more unique skill at photography. Every day, I would open the Pulse photos and truly be stunned at the quality and artistic ability of each one. I felt as though i knew each person from the photos he took.
The Reporter office was lucky to have a person like Yohanes here, and we will all miss seeing his smiling face here. Thank you, Yohanes!

Luke Lonien, Sports:
Anytime I needed pictures taken, or anything else done, you were the one I looked for. You were always willing to lend a helping hand. The Reporter is losing a great one, and it will never be the same after you leave. I feel sorry the editors that do not have the chance to work with you. You always lightened the mood and made the office a great place to be. It was never work when you were around. You cracked the best jokes and kept us on our feet with your clever humor. Thank you, Ashenafi.

Rae Frame, EIC:
For three years, I’ve taken time every week to sit down and just look through the portraits from the Pulse–and I call them portraits and not pictures because the way Yohanes captures these images makes me want to meet these people and hear their stories.

But that’s only half of the Ashenafi Experience; the other half is the fact that working with him is an absolute joy. Not only does he take his academics incredibly seriously (he was often the last one in the office to work on assignments), but he also has an infectiously positive attitude that makes our office a better place to be.

I can hardly sum up in a few words the ways Yohanes has become a part of the Reporter family, and he is leaving behind some pretty big shoes for photographers to come.

Photo: (Courtesy of Yohanes Ashenafi)