{"id":217,"date":"2019-03-15T13:53:09","date_gmt":"2019-03-15T20:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/?p=217"},"modified":"2019-03-15T14:29:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-15T21:29:40","slug":"dear-sandy-a-letter-of-perseverance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/dear-sandy-a-letter-of-perseverance\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Sandy, a letter of perseverance"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.6″ custom_margin=”0px|||” custom_padding=”0px|||”][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”3.6″ meta=”off” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.6″ custom_margin=”0px|||” custom_padding=”0px|||”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.6″ src=”https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/03\/SandyChavez.jpg” \/][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.6″]<\/p>\n

by Sandy Ch\u00e1vez<\/em><\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.6″]<\/p>\n

Dear Sandy,<\/p>\n

I wanted to write you a letter so in case you ever start to doubt yourself. You can remember how far you\u2019ve come:<\/p>\n

Do you remember 7th grade? You loved performing in drama class, because deep down you knew your personality was too big to be anything but fabulous on stage. That was the year you decided that you weren’t going to have a regular 9 to 5 job. You appreciated both parents working tirelessly to provide for you and your sister, even though though this meant they were always gone. You said you\u2019d reach the stars for them. That triggered your infamous words.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to be famous . . . I\u2019m going to be on TV,\u201d you said to anyone willing to listen to your crazy thoughts. It\u2019s a quote you\u2019d repeat to yourself over and over throughout the years, not knowing it was the start of your career in journalism.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s fast forward through high school. Remember you were courageous enough to overcome the dropout stereotype. You went back and finished your high school diploma, and even completed your first degree. You\u2019ve managed to work 40 hours a week and balance full-time student status — and that is an accomplishment on its own.<\/p>\n

You met the love of your life in college: Radio. Remember the feeling of excitement and bliss rushing through your veins when you went live on the airwaves? This was the moment you felt that everything you envisioned when you were younger could be realized.<\/p>\n

But most importantly, remember who you\u2019ve become. The years of struggle, regret, and pain have made you stronger woman. You proved that with dedication and perseverance, anything is possible.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re now entering the real world, the world you only dreamed of in 7th grade. You\u2019ve now completed NPR\u2019s Next Gen Radio program and you are almost done with your Journalism degree. It\u2019s time now for the cameras to roll, and for you to conquer your journey.<\/p>\n

Love always,
\nSandy Ch\u00e1vez<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I wanted to write you a letter so in case you ever start to doubt yourself. You can remember how far you\u2019ve come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

On my assignment this week, when I visited my story character\u2019s restaurant, I moved \u00a0around the kitchen taking photos, interviewing the staff while making sure I didn\u2019t forget to ask a question.<\/p>

It was a long, stressful but extremely fun week at Next Generation Radio. I didn\u2019t know what to expect but my basic journalism skills helped me survive the week. Having a mentor by my side throughout the whole process was an experience that I probably won\u2019t have again any time soon. My mentor guided throughout my reporting and helped me create a meaningful multimedia story. One thing that I realized is important in successfully meeting your deadlines is multitasking.<\/p>

Here are some tips on how to survive Next Gen Radio and meet your deadlines:<\/p>

  1. Pre-interview your subject so that you have a good sense of what your story is going to look and sound like.<\/li>
  2. When you\u2019re reporting make sure to take more photos and audio than you actually need. It makes the selection process easier.<\/li>
  3. Make sure to get all the logistical information from your character: names and how they\u2019re spelled and specific time frames of their story.<\/li>
  4. If you\u2019re waiting for an edit and have some \u201cfree time,\u201d use that time to work on another assignment (hint: social posts! They\u2019re easy and fun to do).<\/li>
  5. Make sure your files are organized in a folder. File management is crucial and makes it easier for you to find your work.<\/li>
  6. Ask a lot of questions! Your mentors are there for a reason. I would ask my mentor, Elizabeth Aguilera, everything\u2014down to what photos I should use, whether my text story sentences make sense, or how to accurately insert quotes into my text story.<\/li>
  7. Introduce yourself to the other mentees and mentors to make connections. The week can get so intense that you\u2019re focused on your story and feel like you don\u2019t have time to talk to everyone. If you do tip #3, you\u2019ll have time to network with everyone else.<\/li>
  8. Lastly, have fun! Although the week can get stressful, you\u2019re doing something that you love so you might as well enjoy the process. I know I did.<\/li><\/ol>

    This program helped me become a better journalist. The multimedia work that I produced are skills that I can take with me to any job, regardless of the platform.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"coauthors":[8],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usc2019.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}