About Me

Hi! My name is Celine Mendiola, and I am a freshman majoring in Journalism at USC.

In my household, my family would consistently watch CNN, ABC7, or CBS News, and my brother would sometimes play Democracy Now while he drives me to school. As a result, I grew up surrounded by the news. But it wasn’t until I sat down in front of a green screen at the Ronald Reagan Library in 7th grade and read a news scroll aloud that a man told me, “Wow! You have the voice of a reporter!”

Since then, that’s been my goal: to become a news reporter.

Since coming to USC, I’ve been volunteering twice a week in the Annenberg Media Center producing radio stories for the Annenberg Radio News podcast.

I’ve become more passionate about audio storytelling, so I’m inspired by radio newscasters such as NPR for delivering gripping news stories to our ears. Recently, I even got to interview Paola Mardo, the host of my favorite podcast, Long Distance.

Other than journalism, I’m also a horn player in the Trojan Marching Band, a.k.a. the Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe (Ever!). I’m also an active Filipino political organizer and an aspiring calligraphy artist (wish my art could look like hers!)

My goal for ASCJ 200 is to create blog posts and DIY projects on topics I’m very interested on, like politics!

I hope my projects inspire you to create media you’re passionate about, and to consume the news smartly!