I had the pleasure to interview one of my classmates from Full Sail University. His name is Raul Garcia; he is 33 years old, lives in a small town called Mercedes located in Texas, he loves Journalism and reporting the news to the Latino population.We had the interview scheduled for Thursday morning at 10:00 am EST through Skype. We both had some doubts on how to use Garage band to record the interview, but everything worked just fine and we were ready to roll.
It was my first time doing an interview, but wasn’t the first time for Raul!. Therefore, he seemed pretty confident and very professional, which totally inspired me to learn more about him.
So, here it is…
Let me first start telling you about his background and how he became the person he is today.
Raul was born in a small town called Mercedes, located in Houston Texas. He then moved to East Lasing, Michigan where his mother wanted to further her career as a teacher. Being a single parent, she managed to raise Raul and his two sisters.
After he graduated from High School, Raul was undecided on what career path he wanted to follow. He mentioned that one time he was watching the history channel and a documentary of John F. Kennedy came up. He learned that John F. Kennedy went to Journalism school and also attended law school to become a lawyer. John F. Kennedy became a true inspiration to Raul, and he began to follow his footsteps.
In 1998, Raul moved to Brownsville, Texas to stay with his father and enrolled in the University of Brownsville. This was the first time; Raul got involved in the scholar newspaper. He started as a volunteer and one of his initial tasks was to perform an interview for an Obituary, which was later published as a news story.
In 1999, he transferred to Austin Community College where he became an assistant to the Journalist’s director. A couple years later, Raul was accepted at Michigan State University. As a result, he moved back to Michigan to continue with his Journalism studies.
Meanwhile, Raul’s intentions were to attend law school to become a lawyer. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out very well for him at the time. Instead, he committed most of his time to become a ‘better journalist’. Therefore, in 2004 he moved back to Texas to study graphic design at Lansing Community College to strengthen his technical skills.
While studying, Raul was able to start his career as a journalist. He volunteered for “The Collegian” at UTB, then “The State News” at Michigan State. He also worked as a freelancer for “The Lansing State Journal." Lastly, he became and assistant editor for “Mi gente Magazine” and an editor for “The Lookout” at Lansing Community College.
Along his career, he was able to meet and proudly work with well-known journalists in the Latino community. Azenett Cornejo, Rosa Morales (Emmy Award winning Journalist) and most recently, Juan Montoya his friend and mentor.
His background in Journalism and Graphic Design gave Raul the necessary experience to open his own new media newspaper called Valleywood Magazine in Mercedes where he resides. In his newspaper he enjoys highlighting the local and national news, businesses, culture and sports.
Raul mentioned that one of his dreams was to obtain a Master’s Degree in Journalism. He says, “I consider myself lucky to have found Full Sail University. The New Media Journalism Program at Full Sail fits right into my busy schedule."
Raul was extremely nice during the interview and I was able to ask him a couple of questions that I would like to share here with you…
So, Raul …
Katherine- What would like to accomplish with a Master’s Degree from Full Sail?
Raul- “I want to strengthen my skills to become a reporter, while at the same time I would like to help other businesses report their information about their products and services."
Katherine- What is one of your greatest professional strengths?
Raul- “ Being patient. You got to be there earlier to report the news”. “Perseverance. I got to stick to my goals and make a great career as a journalist."
Katherine- Where would you like to work once you complete your Degree at Full Sail?
Raul- "Reporting for a local news channel, Fortune 500, or may be a Political Party using Multimedia, Social Media etc. I would like to be able to develop a more dynamical Multimedia Report".
Katherine- Would you recommend Full Sail University and the New Media Journalism Program to future students?
Raul- “Absolutely”
Katherine- Do you think that this program prepares students for a career as a New Media Journalist? And why?
Raul- “Definitely”
“I think the program is a great educational opportunity. They have some great overall material. It’s up to the student to take it to the next level."
Katherine- As for your experience working for a couple of newspapers in the past. How do you think that technology has revolution the old way of printing?
Raul- “ Technology has revolution the whole industry. I used to work in the dark room, developing and getting everything ready for print."
Raul- "In fact, I proposed one of the owners to start using special newspaper software for digital printing and different adobe products. He ended up saving a lot of money and thanked me for introducing him to the digital era."
Katherine- Is there any specific books or Resources that you would recommend?
Raul- "I enjoy reading about Journalism from the past. I also like to read reference books on design and books to improve my writing."
Katherine- Can you give us some tips on how to boost up a New Media Journalism Career?
Raul- "Creating a Network is extremely important, although I don’t have a big network, I’m more into the shy side, but with social media everything is possible."
Raul- "Social Media can really increase your network, you just have to find the right contacts. Following top blogs is also very helpful to connect with like-minded people in the industry."
Katherine- Raul, Can you share with us what are your short and long term goals for your career?
Raul- "My short-term goals are to continue writing for the community and integrating most of the material I been learning at Full Sail. I would also like to become a better journalist."
Raul- "My long-term goals would be able to graduate and attend Graduation Ceremony in Orlando, Fl. I possibly see myself working for a Communication Department at a major Newspaper in the country."
I enjoyed learning a little more about Raul, his background, aspirations and goals. He is truly an inspiration, for the younger generations in his community.
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