Profile of an NAHJ student member

I traveled across the country to a place that I had never been before and associated myself with people that I had never seen before. August 21, 2013 was a day full of nerves and excitement. I was getting on a plane to travel to Anaheim, California. A couple weeks prior, I had applied for a scholarship offered by Ford to student members of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) in order to attend the Excellence in Journalism conference. I didn’t think that I was going to win the scholarship especially since I had submitted my application an hour before the deadline. However, my outlook on things has always been that I have nothing to lose but much more to gain.

I was finishing up my internship when I checked my e-mail and saw that I had received an e-mail from NAHJ.  It said, “Congratulations! You have received a scholarship to attend the Excellence in Journalism conference...”My scholarship included full payment of my flight, hotel room, and registration. I was extremely happy!

My flight day came around and I realized that I was really going off to a different environment. I grabbed my two bags, said my farewells to my parents and walked into the security check-in at the airport. After a six hour connection flight, I had finally made it to California. The sun was shining on my face; the palm trees were swaying from side to side and the comfort of the fresh air was relaxing.

I arrived to the lavish hotel. I then went to the registration desk and looked through the itinerary of different workshops, networking opportunities, and events. I saw many interesting opportunities but I didn’t have anyone to enjoy them with. So I went to the networking power hour and met many people but only two of them actually stuck out to me. These two individuals worked for two different journalism industries. What caught my attention was that they saw potential in me when I doubted my ability at the conference. They had positive things to say especially since I was only 20 years-old and I had a clear picture of what I wanted to do as a career. They saw my capability to hold an interesting conversation and saw my positive attitude.

I walked back to my room and took a minute to think about things. I realized that I had accomplished many things that summer. I had even accomplished the things that I didn’t have planned. There were people who barely knew me but had faith that I would go far within the journalism industry. While at the conference, I made great friends. They guided me and introduced me to the highly important people within NAHJ.

My trip to California was very rewarding and life changing. I learned that no matter where life may take me, I was strong enough to adapt to change. That whatever I may desire to do in life, I had the power to achieve it. It then hit me; my parents came to this country to carry out their “American dream.” But I had never imagined that I was part of that dream. Being the oldest child, I was the one who was showing to my siblings that you can go far in life. With the full support of my parents, I am now at the University of Maryland following my dreams of becoming a future reporter for Univision or CNN.