About Me

Reach me at:

belenrivera.themuse@gmail.com 

Throughout my time as a student journalist on THE MUSE, I have been forced out of my comfort zone constantly. In my freshman year as a photojournalist, I had to learn how to use a DSLR camera and follow through on my journalism assignments. It was the first time I was put into an environment built on teamwork and run on storytelling. In MUSE, I began to see the value of my own opinions, ideas, and content for the first time, and was thus able to flourish and continue honing my journalism and leadership skills throughout the years. Besides finding a community of storytellers, I found a purpose in the community of students at my school and learned the importance of a journalist's role.

After my first year on staff as a sophomore, I was chosen as a content team editor. I went into the new year motivated and ready to lead my team of sophomores who were finding their place in journalism. With becoming an editor being my first leadership role, I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was to be such a role model. In the beginning of my time as an editor, I still had to look to the managing editors and editors-in-chief for answers to questions my staffers had and struggled with breaking the barrier between my staffers and I. However, as the year went on, I was able to cultivate an environment where the sophomores I was leading were comfortable coming to me for advice (which I learned to give as I began to trust myself), would call me on school nights to help them with their work, and overall a space built on mutual respect and understanding. Not only this, but I learned how to edit articles even without never having written one, talking to my staffers about my edits in-depth during class time. I was able to get under the surface of journalism more and learn the inner workings of other sections and the importance of dynamics with staffers and fellow editors. My work as an editor manifested in my staffers' love for the publication, which is something I seek to continue fueling as I have come into my final year on the staff.

As the first part of my senior year comes to an end, I can safely say that I have learned the most lessons being a student journalist. I've learned to try even when my efforts do not reap the rewards I feel are deserved, because prioritizing my craft and effect on others is what is important. After winning the NSPA Student Leadership award my junior year, it was clear to me that I wanted to continue leading others. When chosen again to be a content team editor although it was not my first choice, I was still ready to put my best foot forward in leading a new team. As I work to foster the same bond and dynamic with my new staffers that I had with my previous ones, I have also learned to become accustomed to the different way people learn, expanding my leadership techniques and trying to put myself in my staffers' shoes as much as possible. By writing my first story for a print issue, I was able to experience firsthand the struggles my coverage staffers had gone through in the past and learned more about rules and expectations. With this knowledge, I have and will continue to use it to better understand the struggles of my new staffers.

Being a student journalist has given me to opportunity to share stories of others through photos and writing, and it has also given me the opportunity to teach and be a mentor to people who are as inexperienced as I was. I am constantly learning from my interviewees, fellow editors, my staffers, and teachers, and use that knowledge in order to hone my leadership and journalism skills.