Tom Caudill, assistant managing editor for the Lexington Herald-Leader

I knew Sean Rose’s byline before I knew Sean.

As an assigning editor at the Lexington Herald-Leader and a member of the advisory board for the University of Kentucky’s student newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel, I always keep a close eye on the Kernel. His work stood out.

He covered the crash of a plane at Lexington’s airport, often competing well against the Herald-Leader’s team of reporters on the story.

He aggressively pursued the tragic story of two young women — UK students — who drowned after getting out of a taxi near their apartment. The two had been out drinking and had done the responsible thing; they called a cab instead of driving. But then they stepped out of the taxi and incredibly were swept away by raging waters from an overflowing storm drain. Sean pursued the story of how the drain came to be in such terrible shape, but also told the very human story of the two young women. He did not shy away from the alcohol angle, even though friends and relatives of the women pressed the paper to leave out those details.

His reporting on this and other Kernel stories earned him an internship at the Herald-Leader last summer. Here, Sean was a star.

Dori Hjalmarson, night metro editor and intern co-coordinator for the Lexington Herald Leader

Sean has a sophisticated sense of what makes a good story. He listens to his instincts and he has the sense to ask questions that other people might not ask – he’s not afraid to admit he doesn’t know something, and that leads to better stories. One of Sean’s most endearing qualities is his disarming personality. He is laid-back and relaxed, and I suspect his sources open up more because of this. Sean’s also in a rock band – probably that contributes to his personality.

Keith Smiley, editor-in-chief for The Kentucky Kernel

Sometimes the editor positions at our daily college newspaper feel like an unfortunate necessity.

The students who excel as writers, photographers and designers early in their college careers are pushed into being editors with the hope that they can impart some of their knowledge and skills on younger, up-and-coming journalists.

But management is time consuming, often leaving little time for the students to truly apply the very talents that made them such good candidates for editor positions.

Thankfully for the newspaper, Sean has avoided that trap.

As news editor last year, Sean wrote the stories that earned him Reporter of the Year designation from the Associated Collegiate Press. His entries consisted of a profile of the university's acting police chief, coverage of the drowning deaths of two UK students after heavy rain and coverage of the Comair Flight 5191 crash, the most deadly U.S. civilian air accident since 2002.

Last year, Sean also investigated the sudden resignation of a residence hall director (he found that four sexual harassment claims had been filed by residents), traveled to Minneapolis to see how former UK basketball coach Tubby Smith was received by his new team, and wrote several key stories as part of our ongoing coverage of the state legislature's potential ban on domestic partner benefits.

He did all of this while also leading the largest, most important desk at the newspaper.

This year, as managing editor, Sean has even greater responsibility but still worked on a large project about a UK history professor who served in Vietnam and now takes a class back there every year so that young people don't forget the lessons learned in that war. Although the Kernel helped pay for some of the expenses involved in traveling to Vietnam, Sean still had to invest a good deal of his own money and practically his entire Winter Break (including Christmas and New Year’s) into the story..

Alice Haymond, assistant news editor for The Kentucky Kernel

I always envied Sean for his ability to live outside the Kernel. We often worked long hours, coming in throughout the day and staying until we "put the paper to bed." Most of us felt like we spent so much time at the office that we didn't have time to do much else. Although Sean devoted countless hours to the as a reporter and an editor, his life was bigger than the newspaper, and I think that helped him see more stories beyond press releases and crime reports.

He played drums in a local band that practiced often and released a CD in 2007. He committed himself to reading several Kurt Vonnegut novels last semester just because he felt like it was something he should do.

A newspaper represents and speaks for the community, and in addition to being a meticulous and inspiring journalist, Sean is the type of guy who thrives in the community.

Juliann Vachon, news editor for The Kentucky Kernel

Journalism would benefit from having more reporters like Sean with his combination of curiosity, passion and talent. He doesn't just write because he's good at it; he writes because he thrives off of finding and telling the stories that impact people's lives.

Source | The Kentucky Kernel
As a soldier in Vietnam, Peter Berres witnessed brutality he didn't think Americans were capable of. Before his tour was over, he would unwillingly have a part in the darker side of the American occupation.

Source | The Kentucky Kernel
There were many days in Vietnam when students on the trip laughed as they toured old palaces, swam in a sea still warm in December and explored city street life. But their main purpose was to learn about Vietnam's and America's shared past in warfare.

Source | The Kentucky Kernel
Everyone needs a little affection - even Tubby Smith. After all, it was one of the reasons Smith left UK to take the head coaching job of the University of Minnesota men's basketball team.

Source | The Kentucky Kernel
The former director of Haggin Hall and Holmes Hall resigned last month in the wake of sexual-harassment charges strewn out over the past three and a half years.