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Past TimesLedger writer wins reality contest

Past TimesLedger writer wins reality contest
By Ivan Pereira

A former TimesLedger Newspaper reporter has gone from reporting on the streets of Jamaica to traveling the world and now she has a new title for her rÉsumÉ: P. Diddy’s right−hand lady.

Suzanne Siegel, who covered Jamaica in the mid−1990s, won the VH1’s reality show “I Want to Work for Diddy” during the program’s series finale Oct. 6. Siegel, a Bronx native, beat out 13 contestants from around the nation to be chosen the personal assistant of hip−hop performer and producer Sean Combs, also known as “P. Diddy.”

“I want to work for Diddy because he is self−made and takes life by the cojones, which I think we have in common,” she wrote on her VH1 blog.

Siegel did not return an e−mail for comment before press time.

During the 10−week competition, Siegel had to take part in several tasks based on the real−life experiences of Combs’ former assistants and faced scrutiny from a panel of judges, including Executive Vice President of Warner Music Group Kevin Liles.

The win is just part of a long list of accomplishments for the former Queens reporter. After working at the Detroit Free Press from 1996−98, Siegel earned a master’s in public policy−criminal justice from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2000.

She then went to work for the Philadelphia Police Department for four years before setting off on a grand adventure. Siegel backpacked through several countries around the world, including Brazil, South Africa and India.

“I rode an ostrich once — it is not easy to stay on,” she wrote on her VH1 page.

Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e−mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718−229−0300, Ext. 146.