Newhouse Master’s Program: Magazine, News and Digital Journalism
Current position: Bilingual Reporter/Anchor at WPRI-TV, Providence, Rhode Island
Two main things influenced my decision to leave a career in science and become a journalist. First, I saw how the 2016 election changed how the public treated journalists—and I became very concerned with the lack of trust in the profession. Moreover, Spanish-language disinformation was rampant. I wanted to do my part to deliver factual, bilingual reporting to my community. After the election, I lived through Hurricane María in Puerto Rico in 2017. That experience illustrated to me how critical journalism was in the aftermath of the storm. The journalists covering our situation, which left thousands of Puerto Ricans dead, held those responsible accountable. We would have remained in permanent darkness had we not had journalists fighting to uncover the truth about how hard-hit the island was.
I learned to edit video and to identify great stories. If you get those two things down, you can do so much in this industry. Multimedia is the future of journalism!
Thanks to a partnership with Newhouse, I was a project manager on a Frontline PBS documentary covering a family who was separated at the border under (the Trump administration’s) “zero-tolerance” policy. It was the first long-form video project I was a part of and showed me a different type of storytelling—one that can be more creative and multifaceted. I also won the Pulitzer Center fellowship, which allowed me to travel home to Puerto Rico to complete an investigative reporting project on menstrual justice on the island. It landed me my first byline in The Washington Post and taught me how your story idea can end up changing throughout the reporting process (and that’s okay!).
It means I’m part of a family. I know that wherever I go, whatever job I apply for, whatever city I report in—there will be a Newhouse alum willing to connect with me about it. Going to Newhouse means you’ll have that network at your disposal, where people are always willing to help and offer advice (myself included!). You’d be hard-pressed to find another university whose alums are that loyal.
Think hard about why you want a graduate degree and how it can prepare you for the job market. I used my time at Newhouse to hone many different skills in different mediums to make me a more competitive job applicant. I suggest you take advantage of the many extracurriculars and electives Newhouse offers to do just that. News directors and editors love applicants who can bring many skills to the table!
I want to use my skills reporting at home in Puerto Rico. Plus, I’d like to teach bilingual journalism! We need more people who can speak multiple languages in this industry to reach more communities