Beatrize Stephen-Pons

When I first came to North Star, I was a tech-illiterate, creative writer. During my time in North Star, journalism pushed my writing style to evolve. Today, I can write concisely with brief paragraphs instead of long, winding paragraphs. Beyond my articles, this growth in my writing ability has been and will continue to be useful for writing direct, formal emails.

Since I mainly concentrated on writing throughout my time in North Star, I regard my development of skills beyond writing as unexpected, fruitful presents. I slowly, almost imperceptibly, adopted technical skills as I began utilizing Premiere, Photoshop, and Indesign to create documentaries, featured images, and pages for print issues.

After high school, I plan to further develop my skills in filmmaking and photography as a labor of love. At the University of Pennsylvania, I plan to work for the Kelly Writers’ House by filming events for them and writing for their website.

My skillset grew beyond the physical tasks needed to produce content for North Star news. I have always been opinionated and driven, but North Star gave me an outlet to pursue issues within our community and investigate how they can be addressed. Over time, I became more informed about our community and more connected within the network of our community than I could have been without North Star.

Often, when people or organizations within our Niles North community wanted to achieve a goal, they approached me and I assumed the role of their PR agent. I would have a blast brainstorming ideas to help meet their objective for our community. Today, with experience connecting various groups to achieve a common goal, I am now confident to take action in any future community I find myself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivXBswU6hb8&feature=youtu.be