Name: Dana Dela Cruz
Title: News Intern
What are the most interesting or challenging stories you’ve worked on so far? I contributed reporting to a story about “low-risk” businesses reopening in Santa Barbara. It was a challenge interviewing owners during this difficult time, but I also got to hear firsthand how community-oriented the small businesses are here. I also wrote about forests adapting to climate change, which challenged me to translate complicated science terms into everyday language.
What writers or journalists do you admire? I love reading essays by Hanif Abdurraqib, Jia Tolentino, and Kat Chow — they write smartly and with honesty. For fiction and poetry, I admire Toni Morrison, Ocean Vuong, and Haruki Murakami.