Sydnee Gonzalez
School of Communications (News Media)
“I thought COVID would be an end to experiential learning for the foreseeable future. That may be true of more traditional opportunities, but there are so many ways to go out and get the experiences you want if you’re willing to put in the work.”
When COVID-19 hit and BYU shut down campus in March, I figured that’d be the end of any experiential learning I did until everything went back to normal. I bought a ticket back to Mexico and before I left, I went to return the camera I had been using for assignments for the Daily Universe. “Keep it for now. Just make sure you use it while you’re in Mexico,” my lab director, Steve Fidel, said. Shooting assignments for class was great, but it’s another thing entirely to be documenting a pandemic in a foreign country. Once I landed in Tabasco, Mexico, I got to try my hand at my dream job: foreign correspondent. I used the principles I learned in my photojournalism class as a basis and went from there. Figuring out what to capture, how to do so safely, and how to package those photos for an American audience isn’t something I could have learned in the classroom. I now have real experience with foreign correspondence during the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the biggest stories of the century. Not only is this a great addition to my portfolio, but it galvanized my confidence to work as a foreign correspondent in the future, and increased my confidence in my abilities as a photojournalist. Now when I write reports, I’ll also feel comfortable taking photos to accompany my stories.
