I remember as a kid, waking up and the first thing that I would see on my TV was the news playing. Every single day news channel KTSM would play at 6 a.m., then later The Today Show playing on the NBC network. As I watched I started growing this love and fascination for journalism. 

Something about knowing that you can provide vital information whether it be good news or bad, while delivering a sense of comfort to the community piqued my interest.  Back in my middle school days at Bill Sybert, I oversaw the morning announcements for all three years. 

Then during my time at Montwood High School, I was part of the early college program where I was also involved in student council and served as class officer my senior year of high school. 

Some of my other achievements include winning a couple of awards for excerpts from the University Interscholastic League (UIL) competitions.  

Now as a junior here at UTEP with a major in communication studies and a minor in criminal justice. Throughout my time at UTEP I realized I really wanted to get my foot deeper into the journalism field. There was this moment in my life where I would visit Austin consistently and I had the opportunity to be on the radio show at KVRX in UT Austin. This moment helped me further realize my true desire to be part of the field of journalism. 

That is when I was able to join The Prospector as the audience and engagement editor. Without a doubt, one of my greatest and proudest achievements is being able to be part of this wonderful team here at UTEP. 

I reflect on the people who inspired me to be where I am at from reporters like Savannah Guthrie, David Muir and local reporters such as Daniel Marin, Iris Lopez and Lianna Golden. 

I thank my parents, grandparents and my best friends for encouraging and supporting me. I also thank my editor-in-chief Itzel Giron, for giving me the opportunity to be part of a team as lovely as the “Prospy” team. 

As audience and engagement editor, I hope to build more connections with UTEP students through the strong force of social media and social interactions. I know we are living in a time where social media is constantly in our lives, thus I want and plan to deliver more to the public. It is essential to make things relevant in the sense of current trends and providing information in a good timely manner 

I hope everything I obtain from being here will provide the necessary skills to pursue my journalistic dreams of becoming a reporter and venturing out to the big apple, New York City. 

I am very eager to be part of this lovely team and I am excited to learn more from this position. I know I will learn plenty within myself, my fellow staff members and everything around me in hopes I grow to become a leader.  

Marco Hinojosa is the audience and engagement editor and may be reached at [email protected]