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About Me


My name is Justin Diep, I am a sophomore Journalism, Advertising & Public Relations and Broadcast-Media production triple major at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My passion for journalism came through my time in Omaha Bryan High's journalism program where I quickly rose through the ranks becoming editor-in-chief of The Orator Newspaper during my junior year. My work there earned me numerous local and national awards including being recognized as the 2023 Nebraska High School Journalist of the Year.

I work at UNL's campus newspaper, The Daily Nebraskan, as the Senior News Reporter and a Photographer. Through my reporting, I've been able to cover UNL's student government, Housing and Dining affairs, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents and the search for NU's next president. As a photographer, I've captured moments at sporting events, protests, and political rallies. I was also named Rookie of the Semester in the Fall of 2023, voted on by the entire staff as the newcomer who's made the largest impact. 

In addition to The Daily Nebraskan, I've reported for the Washington County Enterprise and Lincoln Journal Star.





Featured Work

JournalStar.com •

Candidate filing deadlines for Lincoln's spring elections near

The filing deadline for Lincoln's spring elections is coming up, with seats on the Lincoln Board of Education, City Council and Airport Authority up for grabs.Nonincumbent candidates running for the Lincoln Board of Education must file by 5 p.m. Monday. The incumbent filing deadline has already passed. Seats in districts 1, 3, 5 and 7 are on the ballot this year.Those running for Lincoln City Council and Lincoln Airport Authority have until 5 p.m. March 7 to file. There is no separate incumbent...
JournalStar.com •

Nebraska state fire marshal stepping down to take city admin role in Norfolk

Cordes, who was appointed by Pillen in January 2023, is stepping down after accepting a city administrator role in Norfolk, according to a news release from the governor's office. His last day as fire marshal will be March 7.“I will be forever grateful for that," he said. "I will cherish the relationships and experiences I encountered over the course of nearly 43 years of my life devoted to the Nebraska fire service and public safety.”“Scott has dedicated his career to the fire service in multip...
JournalStar.com •

Lincoln police use Taser on woman involved in domestic dispute

Lincoln police arrested a 51-year-old woman Saturday who ignored officers' request to leave a residence during a domestic dispute and had to be subdued with a Taser.Lincoln police responded to a verbal domestic situation Saturday morning to a residence near the 1100 block of South 40th Street just before 9 a.m.Police say the owner of the residence asked Mahoney to leave and not return, but she refused. Officers asked Mahoney to leave, but she also refused.Mahoney later resisted officers' attempt...
JournalStar.com •

'I'd love to stay': UNL’s Russian language program set to be eliminated

“The university has decided to eliminate the program because it isn’t in a position to refill the faculty position and doesn’t anticipate being able to do so in the near future,” Reed said.Baughman, a senior history and Russian major, said the program's coordinator and lone professor, Olha Tytarenko, left after the 2022-2023 school year. Since then, the university made little effort to keep the program alive, Baughman said. Students have not been allowed to major or minor in Russian since Tytare...
JournalStar.com •

Gates Foundation awards NU $3.5 million to expand irrigation access for small farmers

The Gates Foundation has awarded the Daugherty Water for Food Global Institute at the University of Nebraska a three-year, $3.5 million grant to support a research project on the impact of irrigation as a service for small-scale farmers.Irrigation as a service provides farmers access to irrigation equipment through a subscription model. Irrigation can increase crop yields, reduce climate-related agricultural risks and improve food security, but many small-scale farmers don't want to or can't inv...
JournalStar.com •

South Lincoln house fire causes $75K in damage

Lincoln Fire and Rescue were called to a house fire near South 45th Street and Old Cheney Road in South Lincoln on Friday.Crews were dispatched to the 5800 block of Barjona Place just after 6 p.m. Battalion Chief Jeremy Gegg said the fire was put out shortly after firefighters arrived. Battalion Chief Drew Endicott said the fire started from the exterior of the house before moving to the interior. LFR remained on scene until about 8 p.m.Gegg said the fire caused about $50,000 in damage to the ho...
JournalStar.com •

Nebraska State Patrol release names of married couple in Clay County homicide

On Sunday, the Nebraska State Patrol released the names of the victim and the suspect in the homicide that occurred Friday in rural Harvard, about 33 miles south of Grand Island.The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Heather Gray, and the suspect has been identified as 39-year-old Toby Gray. The two were married.The State Patrol said in a news release that the Clay County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about a domestic disturbance at a residence in rural Harvard around 8:30 p.m. Fri...
JournalStar.com •

Nebraska State Patrol release names of married couple in Clay County homicide

On Sunday, the Nebraska State Patrol released the names of the victim and the suspect in the homicide that occurred Friday in rural Harvard, about 33 miles south of Grand Island.The victim has been identified as 35-year-old Heather Gray, and the suspect has been identified as 39-year-old Toby Gray. The two were married.Upon arrival, deputies found a dead woman with a gunshot wound and a man suffering from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the State Patrol release. Three youn...
JournalStar.com •

Nebraska nurse's license revoked; elderly vet patient died after choking

A Bellevue nurse has had her license revoked following the death of a patient at the Eastern Nebraska Veterans' Home in Bellevue last year.The Nebraska Attorney General's Office announced Friday that Nebraska's chief medical officer, Timothy Tesmer, revoked the license of licensed practical nurse Curlee Schneiders due to an incident that caused an elderly veteran patient's death in 2024.On June 2, 2024, an elderly male patient at the Eastern Nebraska Veterans' Home in Bellevue requested a snack...
JournalStar.com •

1 in critical condition after south Lincoln crash

The driver of the pickup sustained life-threatening injuries, police said. The driver of the sedan has non-life-threatening injuries. Both were taken to local hospitals. One has been released, while the other is still in critical condition.Westbound lanes on Old Cheney Road and northbound lanes on 40th Street were closed following the crash.As of Sunday at 12 p.m., no citations have been issued and the cause of the crash is still unknown. No alcohol was suspected for one of the drivers, while re...
The Daily Nebraskan •

Nebraska lawmakers hear testimony on bill that restricts transgender people

Nebraska lawmakers heard over 10 hours of public testimony from over 100 people, a majority of whom opposed a bill restricting transgender people to sports teams, bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex assigned at birth. The hearing before the Nebraska Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee Friday stretched from 1:30 p.m. until just three minutes before midnight.The committee heard from over 100 testifiers against the bill and 19 supporters. Sen. Rita Sanders...
JournalStar.com •

'There is life at stake,' Nebraskans join together for annual Walk for Life

The event, hosted by Nebraska Right to Life, began at 10 a.m. at the Capitol. Thousands of anti-abortion advocates holding signs reading "The Post-Roe Generation," "Love Life. Choose Life" and "Remember the Unborn" opened the morning with a prayer, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the national anthem sung by University of Nebraska at Omaha student Katelyn Glinsmann.“Students know more about the life cycle of a monarch butterfly than the development of a human in the womb,” Holdcroft said...
JournalStar.com •

‘I'm so grateful': Lincoln resident who fled Iraq plays role at Trump inauguration

“I thought I was not going to be picked because there were so many people that applied for it,” she said. “I was the only one from Nebraska that got selected.”For Elias, the opportunity was another way for her to give back to the country that took her in when she fled her war-torn home when she was 11.“I always want to help the president and provide security because where I came from, it was so dangerous to be part of something bigger, to be part of the history,” she said.“Since I came here as a...
JournalStar.com •

‘It's a mistake': Husker fans share mixed feelings on alcohol sales in Memorial Stadium

“(It’s) not something I do, but I think whatever they can do to raise money instead of what other taxes they can put on us, that's fine,” Smith said.Janssen felt that if spaces could be built into the century-old stadium to sell alcohol, he’d support it more. He pointed to Pinnincal Bank Arena, designed with alcohol sales in mind and had no issues with its booze sales at men’s and women’s basketball games.





Photos: Nebraska football hos...
The Daily Nebraskan •

BREAKING: Nebraska regents approve alcohol sales at Memorial Stadium, Devaney

The taps turn on at home football and volleyball games next season. The University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved alcohol sales Friday at all athletic venues 7-1, with the student regents voting 3-0-1 (UNMC’s student regent abstained). Student regents are non-voting members of the Board of Regents. Nebraska Athletics plans to bring alcohol to Memorial Stadium and the Bob Devaney Sports Center at the start of the fall 2025 season, according to Keith Mann, Nebraska associate athletic direct...
The Daily Nebraskan •

Independent U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn visits UNL

Nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn outlined his campaign to students Monday afternoon at an informal event outside the Nebraska Union.The University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s NAACP chapter planned the event to be inside but canceled it due to factors outside its control, according to Tristan Swift, the chapter's vice president.Jack Jenkins, a junior history and secondary education double major, was among about 50 attendees at Osborn’s event. Jenkins said he leans conservative but doesn’t a...
JournalStar.com •

'It felt personal': Fans on both sides of Nebraska-Colorado rivalry reflect with series' future uncertain

Colorado fans return to Lincoln for the first time since 2018 in what may be the last matchup for a historic rivalry, at least for now.Mike Price, 45, of Lincoln, recalls his first time watching Colorado play in Lincoln on a spooky night that many Husker fans remember as the loudest game in Memorial Stadium — Halloween ‘92, No. 8 vs. No. 8. In a matchup that was expected to be a slug-fest, Nebraska outscored 52-7.The then 13-year-old boy had to ask the fans around him what was happening because...