Class of: 2000

Pamela Prickett

Pamela Prickett (COM’00) of Pomona, Calif., published The Unclaimed: Abandonment and Hope in the City of Angels (Crown Publishing Group, 2024) with coauthor Stefan Timmermans. The book is an in-depth examination of the rising number of unclaimed bodies in the United States. It “follows four individuals at risk of going unclaimed and what happens after they die, as county employees take over the role of next of kin,” she writes. “But it’s not just about abandonment—it’s also about hope.” Pamela writes that she spent eight years reporting and writing the book, drawing on skills she learned from Jim Thistle, the late former director of the College of Communication’s broadcast journalism program and professor of journalism.

From the Winter-Spring 2025 issue.