I feel like just yesterday I was printing out the assignment pack for my reporting class and thinking to myself, “Oh my God! How am I going to pass this class?!” All I thought about as the assignment prompts were printing was the work each assignment required. In fact, after my first day of reporting class, I started thinking that I was going to have to ask for my work schedule to be changed so that I would only work Sundays, Fridays, and Saturdays in order to complete my stories. But that was back in August.
Now we’re in December and I’m happy to say that no drastic changes to my schedule were necessary. Reporting class was a great experience because I not only got the chance to enhance my journalistic skills, but I also got to discover more about the Excelsior District.
As was the case back in newswriting class last year, I had to overcome my hesitancy in going up to random people and trying to interview them. I remember just walking up and down the same blocks for about an hour or so trying to get interviews during my first couple of trips to Excelsior. I kept saying to myself, “Alright Robert, no more fooling around,” in hopes of breaking out of my shell, so to say. But as much as I would, I felt like I kept putting pressure on myself.
There were also times when I would walk into a store such as Radio Shack and pretend to look around at the items on display before trying to find an interview subject. But I realized that if I continued to do that, people might become suspicious of me, although I was just trying to get the information I needed for my stories. Looking back, I believe that I become hesitant because I’m afraid of not being able to find an interview subject. But that’s the way it is in journalism and I shouldn’t let something like that discourage me from doing my job.
Although I’m still a little hesitant in talking to random people, I feel more confident in asking people for an interview. It’s like what Stephen Morrison, a photojournalist for The Golden Gate [X] Press, told me when I interviewed him last year: The more experience I have with different people, the better I’ll perform my job.
My favorite part of covering Excelsior was meeting all the different residents. Whenever people ask me what’s one of my favorite aspects of journalism, I always tell them that I enjoy meeting new people and sharing their stories. One person who stands out to me was Sergio from El Corazon Gallery at 4889 Mission St. As I said in my business profile, he’s known about the importance of working since age 16. So it makes me happy to see how successful his business has been since opening up last December.
Since interviewing him this past September, I’ve stopped by the store on my free time and caught up with him, his wife, Teresa, and their daughter, Lydia. In fact, every time I’ve stopped by, they’ve made me feel like family. It feels great to know that even after reporting class concludes, that I can stop by Excelsior and know that I have some friends I can visit whenever I’m free, such as Tahmal from the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Francisco and Cristy Johnston of Excelsior Action Group.
Looking back at my experiences in this class makes me think about how funny it was that I thought I would never make it out of this journalistic boot camp, as the syllabus referred to it as. But through hard work and dedication, I’ve made it to the end. My sights are now set on taking advanced writing courses to further sharpen my journalistic skills.
As this class concludes, I will miss the weekly trips I would make to Excelsior, though I can come back and visit every once and a while. I only wish that I could have spent more time in the neighborhood and met a few more residents and experienced a little more of the community’s diversity.
I’m happy to say that I didn’t get into any trouble throughout my time there or encounter any rude people. Along with the neighborhood’s diversity, Excelsior should also be acknowledged for people like Sergio, Tahmal, and Cristy, who work hard to make the community one that takes pride in family and unity.
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