Read all about me below.
I was born and raised in Chicago, Ill. in the Irving Park neighborhood just blocks away from Charlie Chaplin's house. While I never really dreamed of becoming a successful actor, the creativity bug that filled that house probably seeped over to my house.
My parents are both from Mexico, so I grew up with a lot of good food and a lot of duranguense music. The music came mostly from my uncle who lived with my two sisters, my parents and me while he kickstarted his band. The music gene was contagious to both my sister and me. The only difference was that my sister had musical talents, while I didn't. I always had a passion for the arts, though. I loved to draw and paint. I also liked to sing, but I wasn't very good at it. In one home video of my singing, you can see the camera shaking before my mom drops the camera and runs to the bathroom laughing hysterically as a stream of pee comes down her inner thigh because of how “funny” I was singing.
After years of growing up in Chicago, living and breathing the Chicago Cubs, I decided to go away to boarding school—after months of talks with my parents aimed at convincing them to let me go, of course. I loved my parents and sisters. We all had a great relationship, but I wanted to try something new. And a full ride at a private boarding school on the west coast seemed like the right opportunity at the right time.
I was 13 when I started my freshman year of high school at Cate School, a co-ed school in Carpinteria, Calif., 15 miles south of Santa Barbara with no more than 280 students. There, I learned everything from how to do my laundry to seven different types of knots.
During my last year of high school, I was the editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper. It was then that I decided I really wanted to go into journalism. I really enjoyed the exchange of ideas that happened in our newsroom and discovering the added value video brings into any journalistic effort. Above all, it was a fun experience that let me be creative, and that's what drew me to start looking at journalism programs across the nation.
I looked in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston for the best mix of fun and seriousness. When I visited USC, and particularly the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, I knew I had found the right school.
I'm now in my third undergraduate year at USC majoring in broadcast and digital journalism with a minor in web technologies and cinematic arts.
Aside from the mix of theory and practice that I've gained at USC, it's been what I've been able to do outside of the university that has reassured me that I made the right decision. I've been able to intern for TV stations like Univision Chicago, converged newsrooms like the Chicago Tribune and learn from daytime powerhouses like Steve Harvey. I now work as the editor-at-large for The Huffington Post College and executive web producer for Annenberg TV News, which I think gives me a good balance of editorial and web development experience.
Ultimately, I think I would look to go into web journalism that has an emphasis on video. No matter what I end up doing, I want to make sure my job entails creating content that informs and empowers people in innovative and visually stimulating ways.