By Keira Silver and Maxfield English
Each semester, we say goodbye to members of the Cal State Monterey Bay (CSUMB) campus, and with their graduation, the loss is felt. We here at the Lutrinae feel this as well as we bid farewell to some of our veteran staff members who have made major contributions to the newsroom.
Journalism can be scary to approach as a newcomer, but the apparent confidence our graduating members have brought to the Lutrinae newsroom makes it easy to enter. They were leaders.
Chris Hamilton – Staff Writer
Hamilton first joined the Lutrinae looking to gain additional writing experience in the field of journalism. As a global studies major with a minor in journalism, he found the principles of the field to apply to the learning curriculum of his major. “I felt like it was very abstract, but dealt with ideas that I was really interested in,” Hamilton said.
One of his favorite pieces from his time on the Lutrinae is his article on sustainability practices on campus. Hamilton notes that this story took him two months to research and write, as he detailed the bureaucracy of the CSUs and CSUMB that halted many sustainability measures.
Hamilton’s plans after graduation include applying for several opportunities beyond CSUMB. He hopes to perhaps secure a reporting job at the Monterey Herald or apply to grad school and study global studies or geography. He included that he plans on working seasonal jobs in the Yosemite area while he keeps applying for jobs in the news industry.
Keira and I are new additions to the staff, but my experience specifically started with Hamilton. I had been very nervous to come to a Lutrinae meeting, but after attending I had the chance to work with Hamilton on my first story. The experience was outside of my comfort zone, but he made it very simple to work through, providing clear direction about the writing as well as what we needed to do at the event. It seemed like he knew what to do and how to respond to people professionally.
On that first assignment, the speaker of the event was an award-winning author, but Hamilton had been able to not only find him quickly but also ensure we would have an interview before the author could leave.
One thing that stood out that Chris told us was to “be on foot, on campus, talk to people, ‘what are you worried about?’”
Andrea Valadez – Editor-in-Chief (2023-2024)
Back in the fall of 2022, Valadez took a class called Intro to Journalism with the Lutrinae’s current advisor, Dave Kellogg. With an extensive passion for reading and writing, Valadez soon discovered that journalism was a powerful “vessel” for sharing stories. “It felt really beautiful to me,” Valadez said. With encouragement from Kellogg, she joined the Lutrinae and fell in love with the field of journalism.
Valadez first started with the campus newspaper when the entire staff consisted of about five or six members. Today the Lutrinae has about 20 staff members and contributing writers. After writing for the paper, she became the editor-in-chief in 2023.
Valadez currently works as a part-time reporter for the Monterey Herald, the county’s daily newspaper. She will join the staff full-time after her graduation this semester. Later on, her plans include being a reporter at a larger newspaper such as The New York Times or pursuing grad school in a few years. She would love to be a political correspondent, as her interest in politics has developed with current events. “I care a lot about the information people get from politics, especially nowadays,” she said.
As the former editor-in-chief of the Lutrinae, Valadez would also like to explore the career path of editing. “I just really loved seeing writers progress and being able to help people develop their craft,” she said.
Oscar Daniel Jimenez Iniguez – Staff Writer
Oscar Daniel Jimenez Iniguez’s interest in journalism had started with his love of football, but that interest quickly evolved with further experience. He was also in Kellogg’s class with Valadez and was later recruited by then-Lutrinae editors Arianna Nalbach and Hayley Graham in the fall of 2022. His passion for journalism was piqued after realizing “it was beautiful… [getting] to tell people’s stories, being a vessel.”
Jimenez’s plans have been inspired by the blue vest reporters of past wars, from tours in Vietnam to the more modern conflicts of Ukraine. Following their footsteps, Jimenez was taken by farmers’ struggles in the Korean Demilitarized Zone while studying abroad in South Korea. He was recently accepted to Yonsei University. He will travel to Seoul, where he will attend a program he describes as “the Harvard of Korea.”
Jimenez’s reporting work started with the Monterey Bay campus, beginning with campus events and turning into pieces such as introspection on the Colombian-Venezuelan border. His passion for uplifting community voices was shown in his articles, seen recently when he contributed to a response article after the presidential election, or when Jimenez wrote an article with Hamilton on the Time, Place, and Manner protest guidelines introduced across college campuses in the fall. The article provided the do’s and don’ts of peaceful protest on campus. The election article brought in voices from many clubs across the campus that could be impacted due to the outcome of the 2024 election.
Above all, Jimenez cares, not just about the campus, or the Lutrinae, but about people. If you were to attend one of the past news budget meetings for the Lutrinae, there was a good chance you would have heard Jimenez make the whole room laugh. As he once said, “The world is yours.”
Maxwelle Tartagalia – Staff Writer
Computer science major Maxwelle Tartagalia first joined the Lutrinae hoping to continue her writing skills. As a journalism minor, she wanted to extend her writing skills to the end of her computer science degree. “[I] wanted to ensure that by the end of my academic career, I still knew how to write,” she said.
Tartagalia has been with the Lutrinae for three years. During this time, she has created many wonderful memories and wrote several articles, including her popular section on monthly horoscopes. She saw this horoscope section as an outlet besides event reporting. “I started writing horoscopes after I noticed that the staff writer before me who used to do it had graduated,” Tartagalia shared. “I have always been interested in astrology as a hobby and think it is just a silly way to express yourself and have fun.”
As a staff writer, she has enjoyed the opportunities and flexibility the role has provided. “I attended a lot of useful informational [events] and workshops that contributed toward my own professional development,” she said. Her favorite articles that she has written for the paper include her review columns, her article on the play “Clue” by The Performing Otters, and event coverage from Basic Needs events.
Because her busy schedule kept her from attending many meetings in person, Tartagalia appreciated getting to meet the rest of the Lutrinae staff during team events. Her favorite memory from her time on the paper was the Escape Room adventure to commemorate the end of the year. “I do not typically get the chance to interact with the team in person, so it was a very fun experience to get to know everyone while also trying to solve puzzles and escape,” she shared.
Tartagalia’s plans after her upcoming graduation include exploring various career paths in writing or the tech industry. She is considering attending graduate school to further enhance her skills for future employers. “I hope to combine my love for writing and creativity with my technical skills to be happy with whatever career I can find,” she said.
Tartagalia credits the Lutrinae for her growth as a writer and as an outlet for connecting to the CSUMB community. She would like to thank the Lutrinae’s readers for letting the staff share their stories and continuing to be devoted readers of the paper. “I want to take this opportunity to thank the Lutrinae for being such an incredible part of my college experience,” she shared.
Congratulations to all of our graduates! We will miss you all, but we wish you the best of luck in your futures.