Students at San Diego State University are fairly busy during the school year. Between classes, working, internships and other extracurriculars, they barely have time to breathe.
As if they didn’t have enough on their plates on campus in the fall and spring, many students continue their productivity into summer break.
Rising SDSU senior Madison Cadena, the Daily Aztec’s newly appointed editor-in-chief, emphasizes that journalism doesn’t take breaks for the summer, and it certainly doesn’t limit itself to the DA newsroom.
“I am also heading to two conferences, once in LA for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Conference which I am president of the student club at SDSU, and the second conference being the ACP Mega Journalism Workshop in Minnesota with some of my editorial board staff,” Cadena said.
Providing service doesn’t stop with journalistic coverage and expanding SDSU’s school paper.
The president of SDSU’s Pre-Law Society and rising senior, Mia Martinez, overlooks an organization (Whittier Youth Gender-Sexuality Alliance) in her hometown of Whittier, California that promotes social liberation and attends several pride events throughout the summer months.
“This summer, I am developing a comprehensive curriculum with weekly meeting plans for GSA clubs in middle schools. Once completed and reviewed, my team and I plan to publish and distribute it to local middle schools to provide each school with a detailed guide on running a successful GSA,” Martinez said.
SDSU students are also taking strides in the field by gaining work experience and expanding their networks in their preferred industries.
“This summer I am interning at ESPN Los Angeles as a part of Good Karma Brands. As an intern, I am immersing myself in the world of sports and sports radio. I am heading into my last semester as a senior at SDSU and hope to utilize this experience to further my knowledge of working in sports as I look to find a full-time job come graduation,” SDSU turning senior Brianna Nadal (pictured in top photo) said.
“I’ve been trying to get more experience on live reporting and such, so I’m very excited to start a sports journalism internship with Sports Media Incorporated soon,” SDSU rising sophomore Soleil Dam said.
The Aztecs have also taken advantage of the extra time they have to travel overseas.
From Europe to Asia to Africa, students have explored several countries and cultures and are already wanting to go back for more.
“At the beginning of summer, I visited five countries: Spain, Italy, France, Austria, and Czech, all of which were amazing in their own ways and very lively places to be in,” SDSU rising senior Noah Coots said.
“I was able to travel to multiple cities in Japan, including Osaka, Tokyo, and Kyoto with my family and that was super fun. The language barrier was hard to break through, but that’s why we have apps like Duolingo,” Nadal added.
“I just came back from solo traveling to Europe and Africa! It’s something that I haven’t done in the past, and I’m really glad I took the leap to do that,” Cadena remarked.
Nonetheless, summer never really seems like a break, especially for student-athletes. This doesn’t exclude SDSU men’s soccer player Israel Carrillo.
“I’ve been home playing with the San Francisco Glens,” Carrillo noted. “This is my first season playing with them and it helps as it prepares me and my fellow teammates to stay fit and active as they go back to their respective colleges for fall. For me, it’s really easy to get out of shape so playing with the Glens helps me with that.”
Whether working or taking some time to get away, these and other SDSU students are making summer memories left and right.
Editor’s note: This article was written by Charlize Tungol, a student at San Diego State University and the social media editor at the Daily Aztec.
