Quinn S.
Quinn S., a transfer student in his first year at Cal-Poly, believes his time in Cabrillo’s Journalism program prepared him well.
“I felt well-versed in journalism after my three years in the program. During that time, I published 80 articles and got practice talking with people I’d never spoken to before,” says Quinn.
Of those 80 articles, Quinn remembers well interviewing a few members of the Golden State Warriors, his favorite basketball team. Another article he’s proud of is a Mother’s Day feature on a mother whose child passed away from cancer and how, as a local business member, gave back to the community. At Cabrillo, Quinn won the Louise Little award.
When Quinn came to Cabrillo from Aptos High, like many students, he was uncertain about what he wanted to do. Law was a possibility. He took a journalism course and discovered he wanted to make changes through covering different topics.
“I left Cabrillo with a much stronger idea of what I wanted to do. I like seeing new things and hearing different perspectives. I was accepted at different colleges and found Cal-Poly is exactly what I want. I appreciate their “learn by doing” philosophy. It’s been motivating to publish one story per week for a class.”
After graduation, Quinn intends to work as a freelance writer as well as get into advertising. He also writes, and hopes to sell songs.
Ruby Lee S.
In late 2023, Ruby S. left her job and was ready to do something new. She just didn’t know what it was at the time.
She began considering journalism, mostly inspired by her best friend Sandy Wilcox, a journalist in Oregon. Ruby Lee had always been interested in writing and had also read the work of a lot of well-known journalists, such as Hunter S. Thompson.
In January 2024, she started writing for The Cabrillo Voice.
“I basically upended my life, starting from scratch, and wanting to see where this new direction would take me,” says Ruby Lee.
Her first article focused on student opinions on the upcoming 2024 election. The article explored the political spectrum at Cabrillo and how diverse student opinions were.
She has published articles in the Pajaroian, Metro Weeklies, and Santa Cruz Local as an intern and freelancer. As an intern with Lookout Santa Cruz, Ruby Lee is working on a profile of Capitola Police Chief Sarah Ryan. She is also working under a four-month contract writing for the Good Times.
As well as taking classes, Ruby Lee is also helping the department chair re-build the program.
After a busy first year, Ruby Lee believes this may be the direction for her.