A little tid bit about news

Reporting newsline, each week, allowed me to stay informed about what was going on around campus. I became more aware of all the different programs El Camino has to offer. I wild search for sources in a bagillion places.

I became a keen sight in the Student Services Building. I was always heading to the transfer center for updates. It assisted me in my transfer process, which is always a plus. I found out when certain workshops were being held and such. I gained valuable information from the coordinators. Especially, Sue Oda-Omori. She was always very helpful and gave me insight onto some transferring tips.

I would also periodically check the bulletin boards around campus. Many fliers that you could not find online were posted on there. Sometimes it would feel weird to gaze at them. Many students do not become involved when they are at a community college. I believe it is best to give something your doing your all, and be proud of your home. My home right now is El Camino College. By reporting newsline, if the information I reported somehow helped someone become involved, I am happy because I succeeded at my goal. I enjoyed doing newsline because I not only informed the students but I also informed myself, which feels good. Without reporting some of this information, students may have been lost in the sweeping crowd that is college. Note: READ YOUR COLLEGE'S NEWSPAPER! Your using brainpower while you're at it. ;]

Get your Free $money$

College is expensive, period. Weather it's books, parking, or tuition and fees it all adds up. Scholarships are a very important aspect to assist you in that challenge. It's really quite simple, if you want free money it doesn't hurt to apply and see what you can get.

El Camino has entered scholarship season. From, now until Feb. 28 students can apply online for scholarships. Chatting with Kahea Kamahele, Scholarship Coordinator, I found out what students must do to apply. The minimum GPA required is a 2.0. Students must have completed a minimum of 6 units at El Camino. Kamahele radiated with passion. Students need one letter of recommendation from a faculty member, a personal statement essay, and a financial need essay. She really wants students to win these scholarships. "It's free money you don't have to pay back," she said. There are about 300 scholarships this year, as well as a lot of brand new ones. They range anywhere from $150 to $5,000. Kamahele also explained that with the transfer of the application process to online, many students find it easier to apply.

As I began to interview students I received mixed emotions towards scholarships. Some students said they were too lazy to apply, others said they continually apply because you never know how many students are in the pool to get one. Solimar Flowers, 30, sociology major, especially stood out. Scholarships are what get her through her journey at El Camino. "Without scholarships, I don't think I could be attending El Camino," she said. She has won so many scholarships she attends college for free. They have made it easier for her. When expressing her story, Flowers is very appreciative of the opportunities she's been offered. Scholarships offered range from club involvement, volunteer work, merit-based, and alumni donations. "If you don't get it apply again, Flowers said, there's a lot of free money out there; you just have to work for it."

I can now say I will take applying for scholarships more seriously. I attended a scholarship workshop at UCLA, after reporting this story. It really impacted me and informed me on how to be a star applicant. Your letters of recommendation are extremely important, so choose well on who will be writing about you. I hope to win scholarships in my future. :)

Boxing, who would of thought?

Walking into the boxing room, at El Camino, was a definite culture shock. I was nervous stepping foot into the room that people spar each other in. As I hesitantly walked up to the doorway, a young man warned me from inside, "You better take your shoes off or you'll never hear the end of it." Right then and there, I became more apprehensive. I took my shoes off and reentered.

The boxing instructor, Krysti Rosario, sat in the middle writing stuff down on a sheet of paper. As I approacher her I could tell she was very concentrated. I asked her if I could observe her class for the photo essay we were writing. "Yes, as long as you stay out of the way," she said. So, I stepped back and began to observe. There were mainly a bunch of males messing around and practicing for their matches. Out of the whole class there were two females. I began to wonder, how a female, Rosario, could have so much respect teaching a sport comprised mostly of men. As she finished writing, she stood up and directed the class. Right when she spoke, I observed how she obtained the respect she deserved. Some male students were messing around in the corner, and if they said a sarcastic comment to her she shot them one right back, and they both began laughing.

Later on, she came by to tell me she was sorry for coming at me when I had first entered her class. She told me it took a lot of dedication and concentration to to pair the students up according to weight. "When they aren't matched correctly, people get hurt. After all, I'm not teaching aerobics," she said. We both began to laugh.

As the students began their matches for a two minute time period, everyone who was not participating formed a circle around them. Students shouted sayings of encouragement and coaching tips. From observing her class for a short period of time I learned a lot about what the sport boxing has to offer and what it is comprised of. Before, I thought it was just a bunch of guys trying to get their anger out. There is a definite sport aspect but also a respect and value teaching as well. Rosario has not just instructed a class but developed a camaraderie.

debate central

I have learned a lot from having the forensics beat on The Union, at El Camino College. The team's competitions vary each week. Sometimes it can be a bit frustrating getting down the schedules of the teammates, and tracking them down. Deadlines can become an issue when the competition may have occurred over the weekend and the deadline is supposed to be that Monday. I have learned how important they are in the discipline of Journalism.

I headed out to a Proposition 19 debate on the Library Lawn, that the forensics team and Political Science club held. It was interesting seeing the team in action, and the various arguments proposed. Students really got involved. A visitor on the campus, interjected during the debate which brought about an open discussion/argument. Things heated up between the individuals. I got a lot of information, and got hands on knowledge of what exactly the forensics team is about. It opened my eyes to new knowledge.

media media medium

Recently, I attended the Journalism Association of Community Colleges (JACC) annual conference. The conference was a great experience. I learned and gained a lot from going.

The first day, I attended the workshop entitled "Radio's Resilience". This workshop discussed why getting a career in radio is still a viable option. The speaker, Dr. Brent Foster, who teaches at Cal state Fullerton. He discussed that adaptation is key and timing is everything. He also talked about the different ways journalism is evolving and how, we, as students, can become hirable.

Another workshop I went to was led by Kate McLaughlin. She discussed, with humor, how to read the teleprompter. Her stories dealing with how she got hired and dealing with the entertainment industry were funny.

The last workshop I went to dealt with public relations and social media. It gave me insight into how new media changed the game. The woman explained how blogs and social media, like Facebook and Twitter, are evolving journalism. She discussed specific cases where social media broke stories. For instance, the Kevin Smith scandal dealing with Southwest Airlines telling him he was too fat to ride the plane. Traditional media never picked it up, everything was online. It became more personal. Everything happens instantaneously and in real time, the speaker said. A very important quote she left us with is "The internet isn't written in pencil.."

The keynote speaker, Isa Ghani, CSUF editor-in-chief, addressed the issue of multimedia now being the prominent media. He allowed me to think of new ways to approach the media and my school's newspaper.

I definitely learned a lot and am glad I attended. I am energized and ready for the constant changes evolving in media today.

the rush of all clubs

My first assignment for The Union, at El Camino, was to write a story on club rush. Club rush happens when all the clubs on campus come together to recruit new members and inform students on their current issues.

I interviewed Nic Mitchell, ICC president of El Camino. ICC is the Inter-Club council which represents all the clubs on campus. Each club elects a member to represent them at the ICC meetings. The member then communicates back to the club, what other clubs are doing and yields for interconnection between various clubs.

Mitchell explained that club rush exemplifies community, voluntarism, and involvement. Some students I interviewed displayed strong apathy towards club involvement. As I interviewed students, I felt like I informed them of some of the opportunities this campus has to offer. It gave me a sense of accomplishment. :)

Mitchell explained to me that despite some students lack of involvement, membership amongst clubs seems to be increasing, based on all the table requests for the rush. Many new clubs sprung up this semester. Some of those include: Badminton Club, Persian Cultural CLub, Hong Kong Society, Women In Technology, and Japanese Cultural Club.

Ultimately, students should join clubs to gain one of the fundamental parts of the college experience.

So Many Faces

My feature hunt assignment was assigned in the area consisting of the Humanities Building, the Library, the Student Activities Center, and the Administration Buildings of El Camino College.

At first i took the approach of selecting random individuals, from my area, and asking them interesting questions. For example, I would ask, "What are your hobbies?", "Do you do anything unusual, play a sport, or are you an international student?" Then, I would elaborate on these topics, if they let me. Some of the individuals I would ask would be passive, look at me weird or think I was another person asking them to buy something. Some people were very nice, and talkative and helpful.

The other approach I took to this assignment was by asking some acquaintances that were in my area. They were more than happy to be apart of my quest for finding a feature story, of course.

The characters I ended up narrowing down were writing about the new policy in the Writing Center, and how it affects certain students who use the facility, as well as the faculty. Another feature idea, I got was what it's like to be a student employee for El Camino College. Also, one of my encounters were the idea of writing on the new area of the Library, upstairs and the walks of life that use it on a daily basis. Lastly, the idea was proposed to write on the Students Activities Center and the two board members of the Associated Students Organization and what they do and as individuals, what their job ensues.

I met many different walks of life on this feature hunt, which allowed me to broaden my horizons on exactly how to get ideas for feature stories. It's more of a creative aspect to journalism and, I believe, is more fun than writing news stories. It allows for enculturation, and is a bit more challenging because you're not writing on on day to day events. You discuss more uncommon societal issues that intertwine with the hard news.

Experiences in the Field

I was a bit nervous as my first interview as a journalist student was about to occur. It was with an acquaintance, Isel Chevarria. She works in the writing center and is a free spirited individual. As I walked into the Writing Center at El Camino College, it was bustling with people. Isel greeted me in the back and the interview began.

She was never apprehensive and the interview flowed very smoothly and freely. This is what makes her a great employee for student services at El Camino. As I observe her help the students, she does it with passion and grace. "Everyday I meet so many different people," she said. "It's really fulfilling to help others and see the impact I make when helping them. I love it, not to mention the convenience and location." I asked the easier questions first and then the harder, more brave questions last.

Chevarria encourages other students to follow her and become student employees on campus. Juggling school and employment is a challenge amongst most college students. "Sometimes it can be annoying having to go to work but usually my bosses are really flexible with scheduling around finals and stuff like that" Chevarria said. This is one of the perks of working on campus, as most other jobs would not be as flexible or understanding. She, even inspired me to apply for a job on campus. She went on to say, "It has allowed me to open up inside El Camino and exposed me to many opportunities I wouldn't have had if I weren't working on campus." Chevarria explains to me that she has encountered many relationships with professors, students and various campus employees which have led to references, and some internships. This has helped her get into the university of her choice. She will be attending CSULB in the fall and is looking forward to this new endeavor.

I met one of Chevarria's long time friends, Wendy Jiminez, and she cannot stop explaining her personality traits. "Isel has always put others before her, so it never surprised me that she loves her job," she said. "That's just what type of person she is." By meeting one of Chevarria's friend it gave me insight and allowed me to get a deeper understanding of her character. This displayed to me how to conduct an interview and use other sources when interviewing one individual for more insight.

Chevarria has a prospective future because of her experience working on campus at El Camino College. She continuously goes above and beyond. "Being honest when someone asks a question and if I don't know the answer, I will find it out for them. I won't give them the wrong information and act like I know."

For more information visit: www.elcamino.edu