Welcome to the Bham Now team! Meet our 3 new Bham Nowers
Reading time: 6 minutes
Meet Kyndall Stoker, Matthew Niblett and Beth Cunningham (from L to R)—the newest additions to the Bham Now team! We did a little Q&A to get acquainted… Favorite memes + vines, Birmingham bucket lists and traveling goals were all discussed. You know, the serious stuff. Keep reading to find out more about them and how they landed in the ‘Ham!
Get to Know the Newbies
Kyndall Stoker| 20 yrs. old | From Hoover, AL | Content Producer at Bham Now
Matthew Niblett | 23 yrs. old | From Hayden, AL | Video Producer at Bham Now
Beth Cunningham | 22 yrs. old | From Pace, Florida | Content Producer at Bham Now
Tell me how you discovered Bham Now. First impressions?
- Kyndall: I was looking for jobs on LinkedIn. My first impressions were that it was really modern and fun. I was excited because it was in Birmingham and really fit all of the things that I wanted to do.
- Matthew: I discovered Bham Now through social media. It has been my local news source since day 1.
- Beth: A professor sent me the link to a Bham Now job posting, because he knew it’s what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be. After checking out Bham Now on social media, it just seemed like the coolest job in the world- who wouldn’t want to do fun things and then write about it? So far, it’s lived up to that expectation!
What were you doing before?
- K: I am a full-time student at The University of Alabama. I work at the Crimson White, UA’s official newspaper as the social media editor and a copy editor.
- M: Freelance photo and video | Care tech at UAB hospital
- B: Before joining the Bham Now team, I was a student! I graduated in May from The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, MS (SMTTT!!)
If you could interview anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be? And what’s one question you’d ask them?
- K: Beyonce. How do you stay so confident and manage everything happening in your life?
- M: Steve Jobs. How did you know what people wanted?
- B: Jordan Peele! He’s so incredibly brilliant and creative, and he’s changed the game in so many ways. I think it would be fascinating to talk to him in person and get a glimpse of how his brain works. The first question I would ask him is, “Will you please be my friend?”
Best meal you’ve had in Birmingham?
- K: FIVE bar
- M: Chez Fonfon’s Burger
- B: Well, I’ve only been here for about two weeks, so I feel like this answer might change over the next few months. However, I would have to say the poke bowls from Ono Poke! There’s one in the Pizitz Food Hall, which is right below where we work—it’s a daily temptation.
Pick one Vine to describe your personality. 🤪
- K: “Welcome to Del Taco: Fre Shavaca Do”
- M: “That was legitness.”
- B: Considering my friend group communicates through Vine references about 75% of the time, this was a hard one. I knew I had to go with something by the iconic Katie Ryan. This is also proof of me believing my candle obsession is a personality trait.
Top three things on your Birmingham bucket list:
- K: Finally visit the Vulcan, see a Red Mountain Theatre show, hike at Moss Rock
- M: Drink every local beer | Eat at every restaurant | Pet every dog
- B: I have a very long list on my computer of Birmingham places to eat, go, etc. that I’ve been developing over the last couple of weeks (with a lot of help from Bham Now articles!) I think my top three would be:
- I’m pretty outdoorsy and love hiking, so I’m excited about all the opportunities for that in the area! I’m also super excited to live somewhere with seasons (some of you northern transplants might be scoffing at that, but remember- I’m from Florida. It’s just varying types of humid year-round). I can’t wait to spend some time outside once the leaves start changing.
- I’m really interested in civil rights and the history of that movement, so Birmingham is a fascinating place to me. I’m looking forward to checking out the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute as well as some of the historical sites around the city.
- My third bucket list item would be convincing all my friends to move here! It’s such a cool town (trust me, I will soon have lived here for an entire month—I’m an expert). Stay tuned to Bham Now for an upcoming list of reasons every post-grad should move to Birmingham!
If you could travel anywhere right this second, where would you go and what would you be doing?
- K: Rome, visit all of the historic locations.
- M: Cape Town South Africa hiking table mountain
- B: This time last year, I was road-tripping around the Pacific Northwest! My friend and I flew out for a few weeks last summer, and it was one of my favorite trips ever! While I loved Seattle and Portland, my favorite part was the Olympic National Park- it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. I would love to be out there hiking up Hurricane Ridge right now!
Give me three current favorites. (Songs, books, movies, memes, etc.)
- K: Billie Eilish, The Handmaid’s Tale, Six the Musical
- M: Joe Rogan Experience | Hot Ones | Slim Jim memes
- B: 1. Revisionist History by Malcolm Gladwell, my all-time favorite podcast just launched it’s fourth season! It’s brilliant. 2. Noah Kahan recently released his debut album, Busyhead…It’s been on a just-about-constant Spotify loop since it dropped. 3. I just finished Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and it was incredible. One of my goals this year was to buy and read more books by women of color, and there’s so much outstanding material out there that I’ve been enjoying. Gyasi’s storytelling is just so good.
What’re you looking forward to most about working at Bham Now?
- K: Working at Bham Now is giving me great experience and I’m getting to discover so much more about the city that I’ve been a part of for my whole life.
- M: Being able to pursue my passion all day everyday
- B: There really isn’t a more perfect job to do when you move to a new city. I’m excited about getting to know the area and all it has to offer- and sharing that process on Bham Now!
Find Kyndall, Matthew and Beth on Instagram and say hi! You’ll be seeing a lot more of them soon!
