My Journey to Long Beach State

The struggles and successes I endured before becoming a Long Beach Shark.

by Andrew Ayala

Andrew Ayala

PHOTO BY ANDREW AYALA

“There were nights where I wouldn’t get home until 3 a.m., but the feeling of seeing our hard work in print the next morning was all worth it.”

Four years at a junior college felt like a lifetime and now two virtual semesters at a university feel like one.

My college experience was definitely an interesting one and I’m sure many can relate. Long nights, early mornings, bus rides, a lot of caffeine and not a lot of sleep were huge parts of my life as a journalism major.

I originally was going to school for business management, but after realizing how much math was involved, I decided to hone in on writing.

It was my second semester at East Los Angeles College and I was taking a history class when the professor asked us to stand up and talk about our majors.

A classmate stood up and talked about being a journalism major and I was instantly intrigued.

Journalism, I soon realized, is very versatile. There are magazines, journals and newspapers on subjects like entertainment, medicine and one of my personal passions, video games.

Even after years of receiving Game Informer magazines in the mail, there was still a lot I had to learn about journalism.

The following summer I did some research and took a digital media class with a friend. I embarked on a new chapter of my life; it felt like I found a piece of myself and I was ready to do whatever it took to write and get published.

My journalism professor and adviser Jean Stapleton eventually appointed me as an editor to our campus publication and I felt like a guppy in a pond.

I was the new arts editor in a room full of people I only met the semester before, but the staff always made sure to guide me down the right path.

This is where I learned what teamwork really meant. How the newsroom is like a well-oiled machine and the staff are all of the cogs and pieces that make it up. If there is one cog that isn’t working, then the whole machine isn’t functioning properly.

Being an editor sharpened my time-management skills. It is stressful enough being a writer, but having that extra stress of running the paper really showed me the value of time.

I learned to plan things properly and take all possibilities into consideration when it came to due dates and cut-offs.

Eventually I worked my way up to being the editor-in-chief two semesters later.

Early on, I told the staff my goals. I wanted to run a successful student newspaper and win the general excellence award at the Journalism Association of Community Colleges competition. ELAC hadn’t won the journalism program since 2014.

There were nights where I wouldn’t get home until 3 a.m., but the feeling of seeing our hard work in print the next morning was all worth it.

Even when my adviser would butcher our work in red ink with all the mistakes she caught, we all shared that feeling of accomplishment.

That feeling grew even bigger when we won the general excellence awards for online and print at the JACC competition that semester.

The transition from junior college to university was going to be exciting!

Then COVID-19 built a major roadblock.

I was excited to attend one of the schools I had always wanted to go to, Long Beach State University, but it was different.

I wasn’t able to network or meet new people in-person my first semester.

I made a change in my attitude my second semester. I began contributing as a writer. I was learning more about the freedom we have as students to choose from the all the different outlets we can create content for.

With the pandemic, the newsroom hasn’t been the usual place of comfort to go in-between classes, but a virtual Zoom.

Still, we try to make the best of things. We crack jokes and pitch stories. Everyone is learning how to adapt to these virtual workplaces as best they can.

Our online issues mean just as much as the physical ones because we know how hard the staff works to bring them to life.

Being exposed to those experiences at the JACC events and taking on tougher stories, those all helped me.

I’ve been able to adapt to new situations and these trials and tribulations have shaped me to become the writer I am today.

The best part is this is only the next step on my journey. There are still skills to be mastered and stories that must be written.

At times when I was nervous or intimidated, I stuck to my morals. By following my dream and all the advice that my professors, advisers and peers have given me, I’ve experienced success.

Now, more than ever, there is a need for proper news and proper coverage. For those underrepresented communities in low-income cities and other local talent, there are stories waiting to be told.

Through all the work I’ve done, I’ve been able to gain skills that give power to the voiceless. This is my responsibility as a journalist. To serve my community and tell their stories.