Personal Narrative
I care a lot about storytelling, leadership, and making a real difference in my community. Through journalism, student government, and club leadership, I've learned to communicate more effectively, work with others, and take initiative. I've always liked writing, but this year Bark has shown me how much student voice matters. This program has made me want to expand my interests and has made me curious about journalism (communication and social media) in college and beyond. As a reporter and web designer for the Redwood Bark, I've gotten real experience in a fast-paced environment where deadlines matter, and you have to pull your weight. It's taught me to write more clearly, edit more carefully, and be flexible; sometimes that means reporting, sometimes helping with the website, or organizing content. Being a web designer has taught me things I didn't expect. I've had to go beyond my own work, fixing things in SNO FLOW for others, coming in during SMART and lunch to help Cubbies with their layouts, and making sure everything was running smoothly. It taught me that being useful sometimes means pausing what you're doing to help someone else, and that's something I've come to genuinely value. Learning SNO FLOW elements has also made me a better writer; it gets me curious about how design and writing connect. I created and delivered a presentation for the class about enhancing our writing in this digital world. Before web design, I was a reporter, and the pace was a lot at first. But looking back, that's exactly what made me better. Learning to edit fast and keep up pushed me in ways I didn't expect.
