by: julia park
the person behind the byline
Looking for my actual journalism portfolio? Visit my other website.
SERVING
Look up and see.
According to a 2023 study by the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media, 70% of journalists surveyed said they experienced work-related burnout. A 2023 report by Northwestern University stated that almost a third of all newspapers in the U.S. have shuttered since 2005, and the rate of closures continues at over two per week. Local journalism isn't the easiest field to join. My "why" for pursuing local journalism is simple: it's a powerful way of making people feel seen. That mission has challenged me to take my eyes off of self and onto others, something I've had to learn and keep growing in through my faith and leadership experiences at UW.
Headline: "South Seattle Organizations Empower Youth Through Creativity"
Publication: The Seattle Medium
Date Published: Dec. 5, 2023
Story Type: Profile/Community Feature
Words: 799
Look for the good. I was struggling intensely to figure out what to pitch for my COM 364 course: Media Responsibility in a Diverse Society. The required class for all journalism majors at UW teaches students how to approach ethical reporting on marginalized or underrepresented communities. Our task was to pitch a story to The Seattle Medium, a newspaper with a mainly African American and BIPOC audience.
I didn't know many people in Seattle's African American community, and I couldn't come up with anything timely and interesting to write about. So I started thinking ... how could I use my journalism to serve and build up people? How could I spotlight what good is already being done in the community?
I decided to reach out to the president of Urban Impact, a nonprofit organization I knew about through my church. He shared with me about some of the youth ministry organizations reaching out to young people in South Seattle and the Rainier Valley, and introduced me to other leaders doing work in this area. That's how I found out about The Good Foot Arts Collective, a nonprofit that trains youth to be anti-violence advocates through breaking (the dance form) and arts education. Combined with a profile on CULTURED, a Christian organization that teaches young people how to produce music and other art, the piece gave me an opportunity to explore a solutions-oriented approach to journalism and build trust with sources in a community I didn't grow up in.
(above) A wall at The Good Foot Arts Collective showcases student and visitor artwork.
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(right) A painting hangs on the wall at the CULTURED studio.
(Photos: Julia Park)
RUF Flourish Team
Other students in Reformed University Fellowship and I helped re-paint a map of the U.S. at a local elementary school playground on a community service day organized by Trinity Church in Ballard.
Fall 2022–Present
Roles Held: Evangelism & Outreach, Prayer Team Member
A campus ministry that seeks to help students come to know Christ and live for a cause greater than themselves, Reformed University Fellowship has introduced me to my closest friends. As a member of RUF's student leadership team, Flourish, I'm learning how to enter spaces thinking of how to make other people feel welcome in an established community.
SPJ UW
Photo 1: KING 5 Newsroom Tour; Photo 2: SPJ UW Contest Award Ceremony; Photo 3: Pitching Workshop Flyer
Oct. 2021–Present
Roles Held: Secretary, Vice President, Co-President
In the Society of Professional Journalists, UW chapter, I've helped plan career panels with professional journalists, coordinate tours at local newsrooms, and an annual journalism contest. open to all UW students. The road to re-establishing SPJ UW after the previous executive board graduated was rocky, and I learned (am still learning!) to ask for help, to balance grace with firmness about expectations for officers, and to embrace the diversity of gifts that each officer brings to the table.
Part of a tabletop banner I designed (excluding the logo) for Pulley Press's table at the 2023 Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Seattle.
Jan–March 2023
Roles Held: Administrative Lead Intern, AWP conference co-manager
Pulley Press is a poetry imprint of Clyde Hill Publishing. As the administrative lead intern for Pulley Press, I learned from watching the team develop and grow that great work comes from everyone finding their niche. I learned to stop worrying about rigid role descriptions and embraced the culture of Pulley Press of taking risks and finding out what you're good out as you go.
Pulley Press
Humanities First
Flyer design by Angela Statler for the program's first career panel.
Fall–Spring 2022
Role Held: Intern-Mentor
Proposing a career panel to be hosted by the Humanities First program and leading a team of fellow interns in the execution was an exercise in organization. There were many moving parts to prepare for the panel, which we planned to host on Zoom – writing questions for the panelists, inviting alumni to serve on the panel, and promoting the event across campus. I ended up feeling like I did too much and didn't effectively engage the rest of the team as well as I would have liked (read the full reflection). It was a lesson in leading and working alongside a team at the same time.
Sacred Road
Photo 1: We re-painted a school bus owned by Sacred Road Ministries to pick up kids for their programs; Photo 2: Our team from UW; Photo 3: Face-painting during Sacred Road's after-school program for kids.
Spring 2022, 2023, 2024 TK
Roles Held: Service trip team member
Sacred Road is a Christian ministry that works with Hope Fellowship Church to serve the community on the Yakama Nations Reservation. RUF sends a student team each spring to serve with Sacred Road for the week. Each of the times I've gone, I've learned so much from watching the staff and church love their community, and have been humbled realizing how much I focus on myself and defending my sense of self-worth in my daily life rather than looking for the needs of others, freed because my self-worth is in Christ.
Honors Peer Mentoring Program
Group photo of 2022 Honors Peer Mentoring Program cohort.
Summer 2021–Spring 2022
Roles Held: Recruitment Coordinator, Mentor
joined the program in spring 2021 when it was still in its early stages of revival, having been inactive for several years. As one of the Recruitment Coordinators, I worked on outreach and promotional advertising across campus to spread the word about the emerging program and get students to apply. The program received 60 applicants in its first quarter!
In mentoring 2 freshmen, I learned the importance of listening before giving advice, and not assuming that their experience is just like mine.
