Stories by
By Ivan Armando Flores
Jonathan Sarabia, 22, is a first-generation American. His parents migrated from Mexico to California a year before he was born, chasing a better life and future in America, he said. He said his parents had faith in America.
As Jonathan grew up, he saw his parents struggle to adapt to a new culture. Their English was limited, he said, but they were voracious consumers of the news. “It was with the help of the Spanish local news that my parents were able to become familiar with and aware of society and important issues.”
This inspired Jonathan to become a journalist. His first beat was covering sports for The Cougar Chronicle, the school paper at California State University, San Marcos, where he double majored in communications, and criminology and justice studies. He is the first person in his family to get a college degree.
Hungry for more experience, he took courses in broadcast journalism at Palomar College while a full-time student at California State. Jonathan graduated earlier this spring and also completed a certificate of achievement in broadcast journalism. Eager to further his education, he will begin a master’s program in journalism at New York University in the fall.
At N.Y.U., Jonathan believes he will learn the skills he needs to become a successful storyteller and multiplatform journalist. Constantly looking toward the future and aware of the state of flux that the journalism industry is in, he believes the best way to continue to tell stories he cares about is to be marketable across all platforms.
Jonathan hopes to work as a voice for Latino and other immigrant communities while covering the politics that affect them and the cultural practices that define them.
“There are still others, like my parents, who look to journalists to be informed of the community they live in.”
Photo by Lynda M. Gonzalez/NYT Institute