As I write this, I am a week away from graduating from California State University, Stanislaus and concluding my internship with the Westside Express. When this goes to print, perhaps even as you read this, I will have made my way across the stage to receive my degree.
Over the past few weeks, as graduation came ever closer, several of my professors tasked me to write or present on my experience in college and this internship. It feels only natural to then write this column, reflecting on the last five years.
Like many freshmen in college, I was undecided and undeclared when I enrolled at Modesto Junior College (MJC). It was also 2020. The pandemic was well under way, and I, like many other students, was restricted to online classes and Zoom meetings.
It took me some time and exploration to settle on English as a major, and in that time I took enough classes to earn an associate’s degree in the humanities as well. To any current or soon-to-be college students: never be afraid to explore to find your passion.
I transferred to CSU Stanislaus after three years at MJC. Going from mostly online to mostly in-person was an adjustment. I can still recall how good it felt to strike up conversations with peers and professors without a screen between us.
Early on, I was confronted with the question of whether English was all I wanted to pursue. Though I enjoyed literature analysis and theory, other realms of writing also appealed to me, so I began to explore business writing and journalism.
Each journalism class I took increased my passion for reporting. While writing for CSU Stanislaus’s school paper, the Signal, I recognized just how much I enjoyed writing for my community. What I had missed most as a freshman was a human connection, and in journalism, I found it in abundance.
Over the last four months as an intern reporter at The Westside Express, I have learned a lot. My first assignments with the paper were welcome challenges, encouraging me to hone my skills and step outside of my comfort zone.
I recall the anxiety and desire to prove myself with every interview conducted and article submitted. Comparing my articles then and now, I see significant growth in the quality of and my confidence in my work.
Though I am not from Los Banos, I feel that I have grown close to the community in my time here. Working with John Spevak, Gene Lieb and editors Camryn Carpenter and Catherine Azevedo at TWE has been an incredible experience.
All this to say, I am excited and pleased to say that even as my internship comes to a close, I won’t be going away. You can expect to hear from me in articles this summer, and perhaps beyond.
