Erik Galicia's Inspiring Journey from Overcoming Adversity to Award-Winning Journalism
Erik Galicia came to 女优app as a 26-year-old in 2018, just a few months off drugs, wondering what he wanted to do for the rest of his life: Finish the math studies he had started years ago?
Nope. He fell in love with journalism.
鈥淎s a reporter for Viewpoints, I jumped into coverage of the Riverside Community College District. I was honored to become the student newspaper鈥檚 editor-in-chief at the height of the pandemic and to report from the front lines of the movements playing out on the streets of Riverside,鈥� he said.
After serving as the Viewpoints EIC during the 2020-21 academic year, Galicia earned an Associate in Arts in Journalism degree and transferred to the Missouri School of Journalism 鈥� one of the nation鈥檚 best. As part of a team of Hispanic journalism students, he helped launch an about health, education, and legal resources to Mid-Missouri鈥檚 Spanish-speaking immigrants. 鈥淥ur effort won us a first-place prize in the national ,鈥� Galicia said.
He earned a Bachelor of Journalism degree in June, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college.
Now, Galicia works as a reporter for the Fresno Bee through the . As the Bee鈥檚 Madera County reporter, he will cover a wide range of issues in an agricultural region.
鈥淎lthough I just started this position, I am bringing into it a wholehearted belief that journalism is a public service and carries a great deal of responsibility. That seed was planted in me at Viewpoints.鈥�
Recently, Galicia won a first-place as part of a team of reporters for a breaking news story about a wildfire that devastated the small town of Wooldridge. He also took third place in the Best Health Story category for coverage of medical student-led efforts to better serve Spanish-speaking patients.
A year after graduating from 女优app, the former Viewpoints EIC picked up the Journalism Association of Community Colleges鈥� statewide news writing first-place award for . The inaugural California Humanities Emerging Journalist Fellowship Program made the reporting project possible.