Looking Ahead...

On Mar. 20, 2012, Texas A&M International University gave a platform to one of its many accomplished students. Christine Rojas, former Bridge Editor-in-Chief, gave an exclusive interview to The Bridge, in which she discussed her life in journalism, reminisced about her beginnings in the field, and gave insight into what the life of a young journalist in the making is like. The interview was conducted in the Advanced Journalistic Writing class, where the future Bridge Senior Staff for the upcoming 2012-2013 academic year will come from.

Rojas, currently a senior at TAMIU, works as an Editorial Assistant in El Mañana's Río Magazine. In high school, she attended the Vidal M. Treviño Magnet School of Fine Arts and Communication. According to Rojas, it was during this time that she "discovered [her] love of writing." Moreover, although Rojas was initially interested in pursuing the Public Relations field after graduating from high school, she changed her mind after she took her first journalism class in TAMIU. She stated that a specific aspect that drew her into the journalism field was that she would be, "exposing people's stories and exposing aspects of the community that are important for others to know."

After working as a junior reporter for The Bridge for a year, her hard work and raw talent were recognized by her peers, and she was awarded the position of Editor-in-Chief. Rojas had a vision of what she wanted the newspaper to be like and said that her initial mission was, "to expose not only aspects of the TAMIU community, but also of the Laredo community. It wasn't only about being a student here, but being a citizen of a greater city."

Rojas said that, "there's more to us than the people that we are here. There's life outside this campus. It's really important to know that a student comes here to be a student, but is also a person too." Rojas had this mentality very present when selecting what events to cover and include in the newspaper.

Furthermore, Rojas discussed the impact that being a journalist has on a personal level. She admitted that at times in her life, her social and intimate life had to take a "backseat" to her job. Nevertheless, Rojas stated that being a journalist helps at being able to manage your time better.

In addition, Rojas emphasized the importance of meeting deadlines. She fervently explained, "It is extremely important to meet a deadline. You have to. It's not about can I or can't I. It's about what are you going to do to meet it and how far do you have to go." Rojas also stressed the fact that out in the "real world," missing deadlines costs money and can even cost a journalist their job.

Rojas ended the interview with a word of advice: "You must be honest as a journalist. You have to be honest to yourself, you have to be honest as a person, and you have to maintain a level of ethics. The person that you are inside is important [and so is] maintaining honesty, commitment, passion, dedication and responsibility."

The Bridge would like to thank Christine Rojas for sharing her experiences and encouraging students pursuing journalism to stay focused and dedicated to their careers.

For more information, you can contact Christine Rojas at christine_r7@dusty.tamiu.edu or read her work athttp://www.laredosun.us

(Joana Santillana may be reached at joana.santillana@dusty.tamiu.edu)