My next encounter with a newsroom was as an undergraduate student at Oklahoma State University, where I earned a dual degree in Strategic Communication and Spanish. I spent my upperclassmen years fundraising for the O’Colly and leading creative direction for Modmuze Magazine. I also became heavily involved with media studies research, becoming a published student researcher on a narrative analysis project about migration in Mexico and Central America and presenting my own research on Latine representation in media at multiple research conferences at a national level. 

Following graduation, I pursued my lifelong dream of moving to New York City after being accepted to the master’s program in Media, Culture and Communication at New York University. Outside of my studies to complete my graduate degree, I expanded my skillset as a strategic communicator by interning at the Council on Foreign Relations and Center for Migration Studies of New York; completing digital communications fellowships at the Center for International Cooperation and VoteRiders; and working as a graduate assistant at NYU’s Office for Public Affairs. At the same time, I produced a collection of stories and photographs about Latin American immigrants in New York City in the form of a self-published magazine. This project and my desire to reconnect with the community that saw me grow up led me to continue my career at the Tulsa Flyer, where I proudly contribute to telling the stories of Tulsans.