Exactly one year ago, on my 19th birthday, I woke up to one of the worst emails ever. It was from USC's Financial Aid Department. A few weeks later, a journalism industry executive told me he didn't know what I was doing in college bc I was at a *community college*. A thread: 1/?

The summer of 2019 was just plain terrible for me. The above two incidents eroded any self confidence I had in general but also in regard to pursuing journalism. On top of being burned out from the previous semester, I just felt depleted of really any motivation.

When I entered community college in fall ‘18, I knew I wanted to end up at USC. USC required only one years' worth of coursework to transfer, unlike other universities, so I applied during my freshman year of community college, but I was incredibly skeptical ...

because too much would have to go my way for me to attend USC. For starters, the first hurdle was admission. The second hurdle, and this was the bigger one, I'd need financial aid. Under no circumstances could I front $50k/year for an undergrad journalism degree.

Sometime in June, I was getting work done at a local library when I got an email from USC. It was from the admissions department. I got in. I still remember how I got up and quietly paced between bookshelves, pumping my fists in triumph and joy. Here I was, one step closer.

My parents were a mix of happy and shocked. I want to take a second here to acknowledge my privilege of having parents who support me financially in college. Not everyone has that. I'm lucky and grateful regardless of their reluctance in me pursuing journalism, ...

which is honestly out of love and worry.

Alas, it's July 23, 2019. In all honesty I'm not big on bdays but it still holds value for me, which is why when I received an email from USC Financial Aid to check my USC portal only to find out that I needed to take out $50k ...

in loans for one year, I was upset even though I had been preparing myself to be let down like this. I tried to not think much of it that day. But that week was just really tough. The one thing keeping me from attending my dream school was, really, an outrageous price tag.

Yes, there are worse things out there in life to experience, but this was a tough pill to swallow. To be clear, I was salty. But I kept trying to get over it. I'd be applying to more schools the following year, most likely places that didn't cost $50k/year. I still had options.

This pain became directly linked to more pain I felt after meeting with a journalism industry executive a few weeks later. He took some time to chat with me about what I've been up to.

I told him I was at a community college, working hard at my college paper.

I brought my resume and clips. He gave me good critique, also a few compliments, noting how I had decent clips for having only completed freshman year. I also mentioned how I got into USC but couldn't transfer because it was too expensive.

We got to the topic of internships. I told him I applied to around 20, including a few at the company he is an executive of. None had panned out for me so I asked for advice. He explained how his company typically looks for older applicants, like juniors and seniors in college.

That's understandable, some places are super competitive so they use that to limit applicants to folks who have the most experience. But the way our conversation ended felt like a rug was pulled from underneath me.

He said that because I was "at a community college and not a four-year university," he just "didn't know what I was doing there." If I was "at a four-year, like USC," I "could have probably ended up with a summer internship at" his company, considering the clips I had already.

It took a solid 30 minutes for those words to really sink in. I cried that day. I'm able to quote this because these comments are seared in my mind. I don't think I can truly articulate how discouraging and scary it is to hear that my school, my community college, which I ...

was attending because I simply could not afford to rake thousands of dollars in debt, somehow brought me down as an applicant, so much that it overshadowed my clips, work experience and skills I bring to the table. The fact that my school could remove me from ...

contention for an opportunity is elitism at its core. The journalism industry is more likely to recognize you if you come from an elite private school, instead of for the work you produce and the stories you write when you're young and looking for a job. I learned that firsthand.

I link to this story bc of this stat:

"65% of summer interns from a group of publications including The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, NPR and Los Angeles Times, came from among very selective universities in the nation." https://voices.aaja.org/index/2019/8/1/how-americas-top-newsrooms-recruit-interns-from-a-small-circle-of-colleges

Here's another stat. I'm honestly content this recently came to light:

"In nearly a decade, The Times has hosted more than 250 interns and Metpro fellows. Only 4% of those spots have gone to students from Cal State universities."
https://latguild.com/news/2020/7/21/latino-caucus-letter

Do I, a recent community college grad who is transferring to a CSU this fall, have a place in this industry? I have not even truly entered the journalism industry yet and already elitism casts an ominous shadow on some of my first experiences and impressions of this industry.

To be clear, I know elitism, racism, sexism and many institutional barriers exist in the journalism industry. But up until 2019, I had only heard of those things. As of last year, I’m able to say I experienced the corrosive elitism in this industry firsthand.

I was perplexed: my economic status kept me from attending a prestigious university (which is also way more well-connected than it should be to many professional newsrooms via pipelines), which in turn kept me from attaining an internship, or at least according to the executive.

Looking back, I don't have qualms over the school I attend. I think my experiences are important to bring up and I’m undoubtedly one of countless to have experienced this. I have nothing but pride as a community college grad. I have nothing but pride as an incoming CSU student.

I’ll be able to file a lot more public records requests at Cal Poly SLO over the next two years than I would’ve been able to at USC. But what I do have qualms about are the barriers of this industry.

This industry can't claim it seeks to tell compelling stories if it erases & ignores those eager to tell them, especially those from underrepresented and “nontraditional” backgrounds. That is a disservice to underrepresented and marginalized communities we purport to serve.

Also, this stigma against community colleges is so outdated. Not only are you saving at least $20k by spending two or more years there, you're surrounded by students who come from humble backgrounds not commonly represented at universities.

Fast forward to now, I’m content where I am. Looking forward to the future. Looking forward to reporting with care. I hope this industry will value me as much as I value it. I say that because it needs systemic change.

Last note: This industry shouldn’t make folks feel ashamed of their school. The school you attend has a lot to do with your financial status. Your financial status has a lot to do with your background. Your background is what makes you who you are.

Ignoring this correlation, regardless of intention, means this industry is not ready to meet its flaws. It will be/remain out of touch if it is comprised primarily of students and graduates who come from highly selective schools. This needs fixing.

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