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The newsroom welcomed three Chapman University interns this month— Brian Guevara, Isabel Torres and Fashion Castillo – through funding provided by the Chapman University Marshutz Fellowship.
The fellowship is granted to students majoring in English with a journalism emphasis or a journalism minor who displays a “growing talent” for journalistic endeavors through the Marshutz Endowed Journalism Award in the Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.
Fellows Isabel Torres and Brian Guevara are joining the Voice of OC this spring, joining current photojournalism intern Fashion Castillo.
Torres – who works as a staff writer at the Panther – will cover the City of Stanton during her internship, tracking motel crackdowns and conversions.
[Read: Stanton Cracks Down on Problematic Motels]
“The Collegiate News Service partnership is an incredible opportunity for students to get real stories published and actually get out in the field and jump-start their careers while also helping a small nonprofit newsroom report on more stories and have more vigilant eyes,” she said.
“For me personally, it was one of the driving factors that made me really want to pursue journalism at Chapman.”
Guevara – who previously published photo essays through photojournalism classes taught by the Voice of OC’s director of photography, Julie Leopo– will continue covering open space and culture in addition to photojournalism work related to civic news during his fellowship.
[Read: Birding Across OC]
[Read: Orange County Rings In Black History Month]
“Working as a photojournalist makes me feel fulfilled, especially in Orange County, because I’ve covered a few things in Santa Ana,” he said. “And as a Hispanic man, I love learning more about my culture. I’ve covered Día de los Muertos. I’ve covered Día de los Niños, Día de los Libros.”
“I really enjoy the community that I’ve learned exists in Orange County. I feel like a lot of people don’t think that community exists in modern day life, but if you look hard enough, there is community.”
Fashion Castillo, who was named a Scott Marshutz fellow in September 2024, has returned to the newsroom for a second semester as a photojournalism intern.
“The experience so far has been very rewarding,” Castillo said of her time as an intern.
“It’s been really cool to work on stories that are specifically the Orange County community, especially having grown up in Orange County, I feel like I’m always learning something new about my own city.”
She notes that the stories on gardening, such her photo essay on the transformation of local nursery Tree of Life into a reserve, have given her the most perspective.
“Working with Voice of OC is very unique, because you are so involved in the process of telling these stories in Orange County,” said Castillo. “As a photojournalism intern, you’re not only writing the stories, but you are the ones reaching out for interviews. You are going to the different events, photographing them, making sure that your story is being told in the way that needs to be told.”
“You’re always talking to editors and gaining feedback, which has taught me a lot, and it’s allowed me to grow as a student who is learning,” she said.
“Voice of OC has been a huge factor in my growth as a photojournalist, I think, it’s the number one thing, and just being able to have that hands-on experience as a student is something that many students don’t get to have.”
Torres, Guevara and Castillo join a cohort of students within the Collegiate News Service — the Voice of OC’s partnership with local universities empowering students to cover civic news and critical quality-of-life issues across Orange County.
[Read: Newsroom Welcomes Cal State Fullerton Interns]
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