BROOKS INSTITUTE FACULTY AND STUDENT PAIR TO BE PRESS PHOTOGRAPHERS FOR THE 2008 SUMMER OLYMPICS

VENTURA, Calif. – (March 19, 2008) – Brooks Institute announces that Visual Journalism faculty member and Pulitizer Prize winner, Rick Rickman, and Visual Journalism student, Mariah Tauger, will attend the 2008 Summer Olympics in China as press photographers for NewSport Photo Agency.

For more than 25 years, Rickman has covered all aspects of Olympic related sports and has developed an affiliation with the United States Olympic Committee. Currently, Rickman is the primary contributor to NewSport Photo, an internationally respected sports photo agency and syndicate, which supplies work to the United States governing bodies for many Olympic related sports. This year, Rickman worked with NewSport Photography and the United States Olympic Committee to make history by enabling a college student this rare and unique, all access, photographic press credential and, an exceedingly rare opportunity for this Brooks student to be part of the fully credentialed, international media at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Third year student, Mariah Tuager, competed among several applicants from Brooks Institute's Visual Journalism program to earn the coveted opportunity. Les Walker, director of NewSport Photo, selected Tauger following a thorough review of the applicants' journalistic backgrounds and sports portfolios.

“NewSport is always looking for new up-and-coming talent” said Les Walker, director of NewSport Photo. “Mariah Tauger is definitely someone we were interested in because after looking at the images in her portfolio it became apparent that she has a wonderful sense of timing. She obviously understands the quality of light and knows how to capture good moments. We are excited to be working with her in Beijing.”

NewSport Photo will assign Rickman specific events to be covered, while Tauger will be assigned more general, overall games coverage. Rickman will provide Tauger mentorship throughout the assignment by critiquing her images, offering editing advice and, overall, ensuring her work is effective and improving throughout the process.

Rickman is thrilled to have the opportunity to share this experience with a Brooks student. “This opportunity, to say the least, is the opportunity of a lifetime for anyone. But, for a student, will be life changing. Mariah is a very talented young photographer who has an excellent eye and a great sense of anticipation. She has a love for shooting sports. She's demonstrated her skill in many ways as she has photographed the US figure skating championships, the US softball championships, the US wrestling championships as well as other big events and produced wonderful images of these competitions. One of Mariah's goals is to be the next staff photographer for “Sports Illustrated” and one of the few women ever to have that distinction.”

About Brooks Institute
Brooks Institute celebrates more than 60 years of educating students in the visual and media arts. With campuses in Santa Barbara and Ventura, California, the school offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in fields including Professional Photography, Visual Journalism, Film and Video Production and Graphic Design, and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Photography. Brooks' graduates are visible nationally and internationally, working for distinguished organizations including National Geographic, Smithsonian, Los Angeles Times and other national media outlets, including Hallmark Publishing, Cousteau Society, HBO, Kodak and other industry leaders in the visual media arts fields. Brooks is part of the Career Education Corporation network of schools (NASDAQ: CECO). For more information about Brooks Institute and the school's programs, visit www.brooks.edu, or call 805-966-3888.