Outstanding Student Leader: Pepperdine Graphic Media

Cassandra Stephenson

(Cassandra is pictured on the right.)

Graduated 2018
Reporter at The Jackson Sun, Jackson, TN

Now a reporter at the Jackson Sun, in Jackson, Tennessee, 2018 alumna Cassandra Stephenson spent most of her Tuesdays and Wednesdays mentoring younger student journalists as Pepperdine Graphic Media's executive editor. She helped track breaking news and oversaw production of News, Sports, Lifestyles and the Opinion Pages. Here, she reflects on her time in the student newsroom.

Q: Where are you from?
A: I was born and raised in Camarillo, California, a Ventura County suburb about 45 minutes north of Pepperdine.

Q: What made you choose Pepperdine?
A: Pepperdine caught my attention with its offerings in the communication department, study abroad opportunities and the Great Books program. I was always interested in attending a smaller college and drawn to the liberal arts, so Pepperdine seemed like a good fit. After I visited and got a feel for the campus culture, I was sold. Of course, the view might have helped a little.

Q: Why did you choose journalism as your major?
A: I fell in love with journalism at the age of 15 after taking a journalism course and joining the staff of my high school newspaper. I interviewed an oncologist for my first big article and I discovered that I was passionate about telling stories that are not often heard and depicting the hope that coincides with struggle. I like that journalism is a conduit for becoming familiar with the community and world that I live in — at its best and its worst. It puts me in the middle of a very vivid picture of humanity.

Q: What's a unique experience you've had by being a student journalist?
A: Interviewing Bob Woodward at the October 2016 Associated Collegiate Press Convention is probably the coolest thing I've ever done. But I've also had unique opportunities to speak with administrators, students and community leaders that I never would have talked to otherwise, and those conversations turned into some of my favorite stories. Student journalism offers endless opportunities like these — you never know what is coming next.

Q: What have you discovered about what it's like being a journalist in the real world while at Pepperdine?
A: Journalism really is something that you have to learn by doing. The journalism courses at Pepperdine provide you with fantastic building blocks, but it is my work at Pepperdine Graphic Media that has helped me land freelance jobs and internship opportunities and prepared me for the work I did in these positions. "Real world" journalism involves working with the same demanding deadlines and new situations and learning on the job.

Q: How have you continued to be inspired by journalism despite the interesting place the industry is in?
A: As I continue to hear criticisms of the media and journalism — some valid, some misguided — I am continually struck by the thought of where we would be as a society without journalism. I see great pieces of journalism every day that are telling stories that desperately need to be told and causing real, necessary change. And while my inclination is toward investigative journalism, I think that all types of journalism — entertainment, travel, news, sports, opinion, the list goes on — continue to offer us diverse views of the world that are crucial to living an informed life.

Q: What is something you have learned while doing journalism at Pepperdine that you hope to take into your career?
A: Words are extremely powerful. Articles have the potential to change policy, highlight successes, point out issues in need of address, and impact lives. This comes with immense responsibility in making sure that your work is thorough, accurate and fair. Respect for the gravity and seriousness of this profession is something that I will take with me when I graduate in the spring.

Q: Describe a time that you made a mistake in the learning lab (PGM or NewsWaves) that had a profound impact on you.
A: Throughout my time working at PGM, I've made a collection of little mistakes that have all reinforced the same teaching: go with your gut. If you think there's a story to be told but aren't sure, check it out anyway. If you think an article could use one more look with a fine-toothed comb, do it. If you're not sure if you spell-checked a page, do it again. If something seems 'off,' it probably is. My biggest takeaway is that trusting yourself is important, but so is owning and learning from these mistakes, because they happen.

Rachel Ettinger

(Rachel is pictured on the left.)

Journalists juggle lots of responsibilities and in today's world, the to-do list for a journalist grows longer each day. At Pepperdine, task-orientation is a skill that student journalists learn the minute they sign up to write a story at Pepperdine Graphic Media. 2018 alumna Rachel Ettlinger helped keep the wheels turning at PGM as news editor and managing editor.

Q: Where are you from?
A: I am from Port Washington, New York.

Q: What made you choose Pepperdine?
A: I felt I needed to step as far out of my comfort zone as possible (or I'd be going home every weekend from college to see my dogs — and my family, too!), and Pepperdine had the journalism program I knew I needed to succeed. Also, it's the only school on the west coast my mother OK'd, so that was a plus!

Q: Why did you choose journalism as your major?
A: I love writing, I love meeting and learning about new people, and I have a passion for news I didn't know existed until I came to Pepperdine and started working at PGM.

Q: What's a unique experience you've had by being a student journalist?
A: By being a student journalist, I feel I've gotten to experience all different facets of Pepperdine that I otherwise wouldn't have. I'm not just stuck in the newsroom or up at the CCB, I'm reporting from every hill, staircase and building with an acronym.

Q: What have you discovered about what it's like being a journalist in the real world while at Pepperdine?
A: Being a journalist at Pepperdine is almost exactly the same as it is in the real world — except you don't get a second, or third, or fourth chance to edit an article once it's submitted. But for my internship at The Hollywood Reporter the summer before my senior year, I was infinitely prepared for the tasks handed to me because of the experience I had at PGM.

Q: How have you continued to be inspired by journalism despite the interesting place the industry is in?
A: Truth is important. A free press is vital to a high-functioning society. Question everything. A democracy flourishes with a free press and high-quality journalists. PGM and the journalism program at Pepperdine are immutably more important now than ever, and if you're interested in practicing journalism now, get ready for the fire in your belly to be fully ablaze in no time once you set foot in the PGM newsroom (which, if you're going to be studying journalism at Pepperdine, I would HIGHLY encourage doing!).

Q: What is something you have learned while doing journalism at Pepperdine that you hope to take into your career?
A: Patience with myself and those around me will get me further in my career than any one article I write. Also, on another note, clips, clips, clips — those are the things that will actually get you a job in the future.

Q: Describe a time that you made a mistake in the learning lab (PGM or Newswaves) that had a profound impact on you.
A: There have been a few times where I was afraid to ask questions out of fear of sounding incompetent or unprepared – which can only send you down a rabbit hole of trouble. Don't do that. The more questions, the better. We're journalists, after all.

Q: What do you hope to pursue in your career?
A: I hope to be a journalist, preferably right after graduation. Investigative journalism would be my main focus.