This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Northwestern chapter.

Meet 19-year-old Mariana Alfaro, the vice president of Northwestern’s chapter for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Read on to find out exactly what Mariana does with NAHJNU and all they are trying to accomplish for aspiring Hispanic and Latinx journalists.

Name: Mariana Alfaro

Age: 19

Year: Sophomore

Major: Journalism/History of the Americas

Hometown: San Salvador, El Salvador

What is NAHJNU?

NAHJNU is Northwestern’s chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. It’s part of a nationwide organization where Hispanic journalists can get together to discuss what it feels like to be Latino in the media. We are in the process of becoming a recognized part of the national chapter, and we get together every two weeks to talk about how we’re doing in Medill and offer support to our colleagues. For example, we’re trying to put together a mentorship program between older NAHJ members and freshman/sophomores or Medill applicants. All of our exec members have different expertise in print, broadcast and multi-media, so if you ever want to know anything about Medill, we’ve pretty much got every aspect covered. It’s very much a support system for Latino students in Medill.

How and why did you get involved in NAHJNU?

When I was a freshman, I was the only one in my year to run for a position in NAHJNU—thanks to the support I got from our representative and my mentor Sarahmaria Gomez—and I got to be vice president! A lot of what we do is exploring what it’s like to be Latino in a very white, male-dominated news world, and we are helping in the application process at Northwestern to put more emphasis on trying to get more Latino students in Medill. I think that is really important.

Why do you think it’s important for people to know about NAHJNU?

The Latino population is obviously growing in America and we are becoming the biggest minority, which is amazing. Yet, you still turn on the TV and it is difficult to find a reporter you can relate to without going on Univision. If you go to CNN, you’re not going to find a Latino anchor as easily. It’s the same with publications like the New York Times. I think it’s important for students to be aware that there’s an association that is pushing the idea of having more Latinos in the media, not just at Northwestern but also in global media. NU’s National Association for Black Journalists (NABJ) is a very established organization on campus with such a huge and tight-knit community, and we aspire to achieve that some day.

Does NAHJNU have any upcoming events planned?

Right now we are still trying to get in contact with a few NAHJ members from other chapters to come talk to us. We are also trying to go visit one of our members who is doing an internship at Univision to see what it’s like. Our biggest event of the year is our spring event and we’re hoping to get a speaker and talk about Latinos in the media. I was inspired last year by College Democrat’s speaker Jose Antonio Vargas, and he is one of my heroes. People like him are an inspiration to me and I hope we at Medill and in NAHJNU can bring a speaker who inspires freshman and has the same impact.

What else do you do on campus?

I also work at the Buffet Institute that does a lot to get Northwestern out in the global sphere, and I was a planning chair for Radiothon this year. We raised a lot of money for the American Heart Association. I’m also an editor for The Daily Northwestern, and that probably takes up most of my time, actually. I’m not only the development and recruitment editor, but I’m also a diversity and inclusion reporter, so doing that means trying to call more students of different backgrounds to make newsrooms more diverse. I think a lot of stories are lost in transition when you don’t have people who are part of those demographics to talk about what is happening in their communities, because if you don’t have diversity in the newsroom then you just lose a lot of voices.

Do you have any advice for aspiring Medill students?

For those students who are like, “Well, I’m Latino but I don’t know if I should go major in something else,” I think if you’re Latino, Black, Asian or Native American and you really like writing and you really like reading the news and you feel like you’re underrepresented in the media, just go for it. There is a need for your voice to be heard.

NAHJNU always has plenty of food and welcomes any new Hispanic or Latinx members to attend meetings.

Meet NAHJNU Vice President Mariana Alfaro!