Interview by Roy Aguillon
Article by Jackie Velez
I have been an intern for La Prensa Texas since around April, and it has been an interesting experience so far.
My journey as a digital journalist intern began when I first saw a post from the La Prensa Texas page on Facebook. They were calling on the community to apply for “Journalist in the Making.” I remember reading it and then telling my sister about it because I was interested in the opportunity.
“Should I apply for it?” I asked.
The decision was ultimately up to me, so I made the jump and filled out an application..
Fast forward to now. This has been one of the most wonderful experiences thus far! Plus, I really lucked out and ended up working with one of the most diligent journalists in the group, Julia Aguillon.
Working with Julia has been an incredible blessing. I feel like we are on the same wavelength.
One of the best things to come out of working with Julia is that she has allowed me to take over the mic on The Carpenter’s Apprentice, a page that she runs with her brother Roy Aguillon. To this point, I have yet to see any other intern take over their mentor’s social media page. I feel like that’s an advantage for me, and it’s so much fun!
One of the most creative ideas I have gotten to see utilized is my speed rounds, which is where I ask my guests to answer a question or two in under a minute. This also promotes the interviews to come on La Prensa and The Carpenter’s Apprentice social media pages. When I saw that the other journalists started using that idea, I was elated. I never thought an idea of mine could be good enough to use. It just goes to show you not to be afraid to speak up because you never know when someone might like what you have to say.
My life has had its fair share of obstacles to get through. If someone had told me three years ago that I would be an intern for La Prensa, an over 100-year-old newspaper, I would never have believed them.
Without going into full detail, I’ll just say this, pushing through college while enduring hospitalization after hospitalization and ultimately an amputation, really tested me, and I can say that going through the bad in order to get to this point in my life is completely worth it.
If I can offer any life advice in the face of adversity it’s that you really never know what you’re made of until you are in the middle of a situation. The phrase “never give up” does seem like such a cliche, so I’ll say this, instead, there’s a fighter in all of us, but it’s up to us to dig really deep to pull it out. It’s not pretty and it takes so much effort, but I promise you, it’s there. You just need to find it.
If you are interested in joining La Prensa, please email: digitalteam@laprensatexas.com
For more information about me please follow me at: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/jaxxsa/ or https://www.instagram.com/poegirl247/
Facebook: @jaxxsa
