Amanda Hernández

What made you decide to enroll at the University of Maryland?
I enrolled at the University of Maryland because I fell in love with the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. It felt like a place where I could truly prosper as an individual, a student, and most importantly as a journalist. I also liked that the journalism school was relatively small, so finding a community of like-minded students didn't feel like a daunting task. Additionally, a few other highlights for me were the supportive staff and data journalism classes.

What major/career path do you plan on pursuing and how did you select that path?
Upon graduating, I plan to pursue a career in data journalism where I will use my coding and journalism knowledge to produce aesthetically pleasing, data-driven stories and applications such as databases or automated bots. I learned more about data journalism after adding my second major, information science. It was largely through my information science coding classes in R, Python, and MySQL that I realized I had a real passion for this kind of work.

Activities I do outside of class or community service/volunteer activities I'm involved with:
I was previously involved with The Diamondback as a staff writer, news editor, and DBK en Español editor. I spearheaded the establishment of the newspaper's Spanish section. I was also involved in Stories Beneath the Shell and La Voz Unida, which later became the foundation of DBK en Español. In addition to these extracurriculars, I have also held several newsroom internships with local and national outlets, including USA Today, NBC4/Telemundo44, and ABC News.

Aside from academics, what else do you hope to take away from your time at Maryland?
I hope that my experience at Maryland not only equips me with the tools that I need to pursue a career in data journalism, but also helps me refine myself and become a more confident person overall.

What are your future goals after graduation?
After graduating, I hope to obtain a full-time newsroom position where I can work with data and create graphics. I hope to either extend my current internship with ABC News or transition into a full-time position within the company. I would also be interested in an editing position.