By Jose Valenzuela
Pulse staff editor
The March 2017 issue of The Pulse is the seventy-fifth issue published since the Fall of 1998. We asked former reporters and editors to let us know where they are now, their favorite Palo Alto memories, and what advice they would give to current students.
Sylvia Hernandez graduated from Palo Alto College with magna cum laude honors, and she graduated from Texas A&M-San Antonio at the age of 51 with summa cum laude honors, all while working full-time and raising four kids. Hernandez currently works in the Human Resources Department at DPT Laboratories in San Antonio as a training coordinator and a graphics coordinator. Some of her best memories at PAC were in the reporting class where she really enjoyed seeing not just her articles but her classmate’s articles “come to life” and be published.
“Within the HR Dept, each of us wears many hats according to our specialized skills. My specialized skills are centered around investigative and analytical writing, designing and creating graphics, and photography. My Pulse experience allowed me the opportunity to further develop and sharpen my writing skills and the opportunity to become more at ease at interviewing strangers. These are all skills I put to use on a regular basis at work,” wrote Hernandez. “When I first graduated, I did plan on working in a journalistic field, but when the opportunity presented itself at my place of work to move into HR, I considered it the best of both worlds. I have one leg in the training environment of our company, where I use my analytical and presentation skills, and I have another leg in doing what I love – writing. I write articles for the company newsletter; interview and write mini bios for new hires; design graphics for company events; and I’m practically the company photographer. Outside of HR, in my free time, I enjoy freelance writing and writing short stories.”
My best advice would be to get your schooling out of the way sooner rather than later. Do it while you’re young when you’re in a position to take on internships that will help you get your foot in the right doors.
PAC Student Media 