KSC Alumna Spotlight – Ms. Shantel Guzman ’19

What is the most important skill that you learned during your time on the KSC Staff?

“Working for the KSC really helped me to understand how a newsroom functions and how collaborative journalism really is.  Because of this, I was not taken aback when I encountered a similar newsroom setting in college.  Also, the KSC really just helped me to become a better writer.  I found my voice and style as a writer during my time in the Newsroom.  Plus, I can always spot passive voice now.”

How have you continued your interest in journalism after graduating from Sacred Heart Greenwich?

“Taking journalism at Sacred Heart is what helped me decide I wanted to pursue a career in media.  At the end of my freshman year of college, I applied to a dual major program within the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.  I was accepted to the program and now I am a political science major in Maxwell and deciding between a Public Relations or Magazine, News, and Digital Journalism major in Newhouse.  I definitely would not be considering this path if I had not worked on the KSC.  On-campus, I like to get involved in as many different organizations as I can so I can better understand what career path I want to take.  Last semester, I worked as the opinions editor for a magazine on campus Jerk Magazine.  I wrote two pieces and edited about a dozen others.  I stepped down from this position in January in order to work for Hill Communications which is a student-run public relations firm on campus.  I am an account associate on the Climate Change Action and Awareness (CCAA) account.  My team and I manage the organization’s social media, and I write pitches aimed at local central New Y0rk publications and journalists hoping they can highlight the work the CCAA is doing.  In the future, I plan to get involved in The Daily Orange, which is the student-run newspaper on campus.”

What piece of advice would you give to the current and future KSC Staff?

“I want to emphasize how important the work you all are doing now is.  I have used the work I did on the KSC to apply to so many different positions and internships during college.  I also sometimes look back at my KSC work when doing my journalism homework.  The KSC gave me a really good foundation for a potential major and career in journalism, so don’t take the things you’re learning for granted and don’t take the criticisms to heart because it will make you a better writer.”