In this special series, we spotlight alumni from the MoCo Student. Today, we are honored to feature alumni Charles Wang and showcase the newspaper’s history for our readers and local community.
Please introduce a short introduction about your past role in the MoCo Student and where you are now.
I did MoCo Student 2019 through 2022! So basically all of high school! I was the Design Editor in my senior year. My high school was Walter Johnson. I’m currently a senior at UPenn doing computer graphics! (Think animation, game engines, 3D modeling, etc.)
What was a memory you remember from your time in the MoCo Student?
A memory that instantly comes to mind was the first graphic assignment given to me. I still remember being very nervous at messing things up, even though all the editors were literally the nicest people ever. There were just a lot of unknowns for me to figure out, like what should I draw on? How big should it be? What format should I upload it in? In hindsight it would’ve been easier to just start and figure things out, but I was worried.
What was your favorite part of working in the MoCo Student?
My favorite part was definitely the yearly transitions, where the staff rotated out as seniors graduated and new people filled in their spots. It was a really nice way to meet new people, and it was very exciting to see old people be promoted or take on new roles. When I became editor I wished to pass on the generosity shown to me by my editor, that sort of feeling. Keep the cycle going.
How have the skills you learned in the MoCo Student guided you in your academic and professional career?
Working with people, delegating tasks, keeping track of assignments, all this stuff becomes really useful in college when you’re trying to do 50 different things. It also made me realize that I want to choose a career where I actually enjoyed the work that I was doing and it’s worth it to sacrifice some things for it (whether that be money, fame, etc.)
How do you see journalism impact your everyday life? This could be newspapers you read, journalism experience you’ve been involved in, or the importance of journalism in general.
It’s important for journalism to exist across all levels of regions. What I mean by this is that while the New York Times or Washington Post often focuses on nation-wide, headline-defining news, journalism needs to be active to cover events going on on the state level, city level, and county level. Big newspapers often miss the tiny details and events going on within your own community. MoCo Student is great because most articles I read I’m like, wait I know the place/person/event that they’re talking about! Bringing that kind of voice into the world is important.
—Charles Wang
Photo courtesy of Charles Wang
For alumni interested in sharing their experience, please contact editorsmocostudent@gmail.com for how to get involved.
Written by the Editor-in-Chiefs
Header photo courtesy of Creative Commons