The King’s Page is the San Marcos school newspaper, but what does that really mean? That means that the entire paper is student-run and organized which takes a tremendous amount of effort from everyone on the staff: the writers, the advisor, the section editors and the Editors-in Chief. Year-after year, graduating Editor-In-Chiefs  take the skills they learned during their time with the kings page with them to college and their future careers. Last year’s Editors-in-Chiefs were Olivia Marceda, Evelina Erickson and Noelle Cabrera. All three of them have continued to pursue their interest in Journalism at their respective colleges. Olivia is majoring in journalism at Fairfield, Noelle is majoring in journalism at Northwestern and Evelina is majoring in English at UC Berkeley. To see where this year has taken them, they answered some questions about their experiences with their first years of college.

Q1. How have you continued pursuing journalism at your college?

Olivia:

At Fairfield University, I’ve remained deeply involved in journalism:I’m the Assistant News Editor for The Mirror, our campus newspaper.I serve as the Music Director for WVOF 88.5 FM, our college radio station.I host a podcast called “Stags in the Studio”, where we spotlight student athletes and coaches.I’m also a Division I play-by-play sports broadcaster, which has been an incredibly exciting experience.Academically, I’ve taken courses in broadcast journalism, news writing, media law and ethics, and more. I’ve had the opportunity to go on unforgettable field trips to major news stations and to NYC, where I’ve met multiple New York Times reporters and other industry professionals.           

Evelina:

I joined The Daily Californian, a student-run, independent newspaper. As a general assignment news reporter, I write articles bi-weekly about what’s happening on the UC Berkeley campus and in the city of Berkeley. 

Noele: 

I have continued pursuing journalism at Northwestern both by majoring in journalism at the Medill School of Journalism, and by writing for the Daily Northwestern. I have also joined the Northwestern Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists here, and continue to be involved and connected in the greater journalism community. 

 Q2. How is journalism in college different from the King’s Page?

Olivia:

College journalism comes with faster paced deadlines and higher expectations, which was a big adjustment at first. Balancing academic work with journalism commitments could get overwhelming, especially during my first semester, but over time, I learned how to better manage my time and responsibilities.

One exciting difference is the opportunity for wider exposure. For example, I had one of my articles picked up by the Connecticut Post, which was an incredibly rewarding and validating experience. It reminded me that my work can reach beyond campus and make an impact in the professional world.

While The King’s Page was an amazing place to grow and lead, college journalism has pushed me to elevate my writing, reporting, and editorial skills in a much more competitive and professional environment.

Evelina:

To my surprise, I found there were a lot of similarities between The Daily Cal and The King’s Page. The actual writing is much more formal and professional, which is to be expected. It is also a faster turn-around for when you get assigned an article (often less than 24 hours) and operates on a much larger scale. The basic structure and lessons taught to me in training were those that I was familiar with already from being on The King’s Page (like the inverted pyramid) though which was nice. 

Noelle:

 Journalism in college is very different from the King’s Page in a lot of ways. For one, journalism as a class/major is separated from student publications. So, whereas on the King’s Page you are learning journalism while you are working on publishing a paper, at Northwestern, you do those things pretty separately. Of course, there is a lot to learn in the process of writing for the Daily Northwestern, but journalism basics are taught as a part of the first year sequence for journalism majors, which includes a class on journalistic ethics, one on the fundamentals of reporting and writing, and one on the fundamentals of video journalism. Things are also much more strict in college, in terms of journalism classes and how the paper is run. The editing process for the Daily Northwestern is rigorous, with each piece going through multiple editors and undergoing hundreds of edits. For my journalism classes, the standards are also really high. We are expected to strictly follow AP Style, cite our sources in a particular way, and any factual error in our submitted work (wrong date, misspelled name, etc) results in an F on the assignment. 

Q3.What if anything that you learned during your time on the King’s Page prepared you or helped you with journalism skills you have used in college?

Olivia:

My experience on The King’s Page gave me a major head start. Serving as an editor for so many years in high school helped me secure the Assistant News Editor role at The Mirror during my freshman year which is pretty rare. Having a portfolio of published work and leadership experience already in place showed I was a committed, ethical, and capable journalist. And because at the King’s Page we were taught industry standard equipment I was able to do layouts with minimal training and help my peers even with layouts. I’m incredibly grateful for that foundation.

Evelina:

So, so many things —  taking criticism during editing, managing my time, conducting interviews, general rules for writing news articles, sending emails and coming up with questions, and even more. Being on The King’s Page prepared me for being confident when reaching out to sources and putting myself out there. I really appreciated how accustomed I already felt with a newsroom and being a part of a newspaper since being on The King’s Page in highschool. It made college journalism feel less scary. 

Noelle:

Working on the King’s Page has prepared me for college journalism in so many ways. It gave me a very solid foundation in print journalism, so I was familiar with things such as ledes, article structures, interview norms, etc that are crucial to journalism. This foundational knowledge made the transition to college journalism so much easier, and made me feel much more prepared for my fundamentals of reporting and writing class. Even though it was still scary to write for my grade and to go out and interview people in such a new place, my knowledge from the King’s Page stuck with me and helped me. It also gave me valuable skills in collaboration and communication that prepared me to work with my peers on articles and editing. 

Q4.How are you liking your school in general?

Olivia:

I absolutely love Fairfield University. It’s a smaller school, which means most of my classes cap at around 15 students. Allowing for strong relationships with professors. My advisor even offered to host me during holiday breaks since I’m an out-of-state student, which speaks volumes about the sense of community here. I’ve had the chance to personally connect with both the dean and the university president. It was really easy to get involved early on, and I’ve already had amazing opportunities in New York City thanks to our close proximity. Most importantly, I’ve made lifelong friendships and unforgettable memories that I’ll cherish forever.

Evelina:

I’m loving my school and I’m super happy to be there. All my professors and courses have been great and fascinating. The friends I’ve made are wonderful. I’ve already learned an incredible amount. Cal was definitely the best decision for me. I’m excited to go back for my sophomore year!

Noelle:

I am really loving Medill at Northwestern! It was definitely a big transition going from Santa Barbara to Chicago, and the winter was very cold, but I feel so grateful to have the opportunity to study journalism here. I have been really lucky to make amazing friends, join fun organizations, and take classes that really interest me. It has been so cool to have seasons, get to explore Chicago, and go to a school that has both great academics and sports, as a part of the Big 10 conference. It’s also really great to be surrounded by peers who are passionate and motivated, which drives me to be a better student. 

Q5.What is something that you like more about college journalism? 

Olivia:The variety and intensity of experiences stand out.

     Everyone is truly passionate, and I’m constantly inspired by upperclassmen and our editorial team. I’ve gotten to dive into crime reporting, covering both campus and city stories. It’s been eye-opening and exciting. I’ve also had the chance to try broadcasting and radio for the first time, and I’ve completely fallen in love with both formats.

It’s an environment that challenges me, pushes me, and inspires me every day.

Evelina:

What I really like about college journalism is the balance of serious and fun. I’ve enjoyed being on The Daily Cal a ton, while also being super proud of myself for having published articles. This also has to do with college in general, but what I also like more about college journalism is that every single person chooses to be there and really engages because they have their own goals. Probably most of all, something I like about college journalism more is how it is exposing me to a broad range of so many different topics that I couldn’t imagine knowing about otherwise. It’s so cool!

Noelle:

Something I like more about college journalism is being able to focus more on improving my own skills as a journalist. On the King’s Page, I definitely grew and learned a lot, but I felt like a lot of my time was focused on editing other peoples’ work and doing formatting rather than improving my own writing substantially. Here, I feel like I have been really challenged to grow as a writer and journalist. 

Q6.What is something you miss about the Kings page?

Olivia:

I miss the community, the friendships, the teamwork, and especially working with Mrs. Willbanks, who was an incredible advisor and mentor. Even though I’ve developed a strong bond with my college advisor, nothing compares to the experience of learning from her. The King’s Page was where I discovered my passion for journalism, and I’ll always be grateful for that time.

Evelina:

I miss the class atmosphere with The King’s Page where we all got to hang out and form strong relationships and bonds super quickly. Whereas, since I’m mainly working with the editors one-on-one in college, besides the weekly staff meetings, I don’t have as easy an opportunity for the same connections and collaboration with the other writers as I was able to in high school.

Noelle:

There is so much I miss about the King’s Page, it was essentially my home for four years. But most of all, I would say I miss the community. Since the class was so small, I felt like I got to talk and connect with everyone and really build a community there. That is harder to do here at Northwestern because the school of journalism is much bigger than a high school journalism class.