Describe your dream job
Imagine being able to travel throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, filing deeply reported stories about the lives of over 650 million people for one of the world's most respected journalistic institutions.
What I've described is the role of The New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, a job I've wanted since I was a teenager.
At 8, I created a student newspaper and appointed myself "editor-in-chief," taking on an extra responsibility besides guiding the paper: writing about Mexico.
My interest in Mexico is rooted in my obsession with history, specifically colonial history.
The majority of my friends growing up were of Latin American descent and the time I spent in their homes exposed me to the cultural wealth and human diversity of an area that felt both familiar and totally foreign.
Now, 20-something years later, I've refined my Spanish at university in Spain, traveled to and written about Mexico and Cuba, and embarked on a path to earning my Ph.D. in anthropology with an emphasis on pre-Columbian Mexico.
But I still want to do more on-the-ground research and become intimately familiar with the region through its people.
The job satisfies different criteria: the desire to report (there are so many untold stories about the Spanish-speaking world) while living abroad, the backing of a vaunted institution and the knowledge that stories about Latin America are likelier to get read in the New York Times than perhaps any other publication.
I'm hoping to have a career where I'm constantly sharpening my reporting skills, learning what makes the world and the people in it tick— including me! — and expressing curiosity, integrity and collaboration.
I still have a ways to go.
A critical prerequisite of the job is fluency in Spanish and I'm a little rusty.
I also lack the kinds of clips I'll need to demonstrate my journalistic abilities.
Currently, I'm not getting those skills at SJSU — but that's my fault.
When I was a student here in 2011, I changed majors from journalism to advertising.
Now I'm trying to quickly finish my advertising degree so I can move onto anthropology.
However, I already have something of a relevant career as a digital news editor and former reporter.
So, maybe there's hope.
What I've described is the role of The New York Times bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, a job I've wanted since I was a teenager.
At 8, I created a student newspaper and appointed myself "editor-in-chief," taking on an extra responsibility besides guiding the paper: writing about Mexico.
My interest in Mexico is rooted in my obsession with history, specifically colonial history.
The majority of my friends growing up were of Latin American descent and the time I spent in their homes exposed me to the cultural wealth and human diversity of an area that felt both familiar and totally foreign.
Now, 20-something years later, I've refined my Spanish at university in Spain, traveled to and written about Mexico and Cuba, and embarked on a path to earning my Ph.D. in anthropology with an emphasis on pre-Columbian Mexico.
But I still want to do more on-the-ground research and become intimately familiar with the region through its people.
The job satisfies different criteria: the desire to report (there are so many untold stories about the Spanish-speaking world) while living abroad, the backing of a vaunted institution and the knowledge that stories about Latin America are likelier to get read in the New York Times than perhaps any other publication.
I'm hoping to have a career where I'm constantly sharpening my reporting skills, learning what makes the world and the people in it tick— including me! — and expressing curiosity, integrity and collaboration.
I still have a ways to go.
A critical prerequisite of the job is fluency in Spanish and I'm a little rusty.
I also lack the kinds of clips I'll need to demonstrate my journalistic abilities.
Currently, I'm not getting those skills at SJSU — but that's my fault.
When I was a student here in 2011, I changed majors from journalism to advertising.
Now I'm trying to quickly finish my advertising degree so I can move onto anthropology.
However, I already have something of a relevant career as a digital news editor and former reporter.
So, maybe there's hope.
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