From The Reporter To The New York Times Student Journalism Institute

Riane Roldan, who served as the arts and entertainment editor and social media director for The Reporter during the 2016-2017 school year, was selected to participate in the 2018 New York Times Student Journalism Institute.

The prestigious 16-day training program allows aspiring minority journalists to work under reporters and editors from The New York Times. Students will cover events that take place in New York City from May 19 until June 3. Some of the work will be published in The New York Times.

“I’m excited to learn from people that work at a place that I’ve always considered to be the best of the best in journalism,” said Roldan, who was among hundreds of  students who applied for the NYTSJI. “I also want to meet with other students that were also accepted to see what they have to offer because maybe in the future, they will be the people I’ll be working with as well.”

Opportunities at the Institute will vary from reporting, photography, copy editing, web production, video journalism, newspaper page design and interactive graphics and data journalism.

While at The Reporter, Roldan won two first-place awards for her writing from the Florida College System Publications Association. The stories involved a poignant case involving the murder-suicide of a Miami Dade College student and her family and the story of a Grammy award-winning professor who made a controversial tweet about about former president Barack Obama.

“I credit my passion for journalism and what I do to The Reporter,” Roldan said. “Journalism is storytelling, learning about new things, places, other people. I can do so much with it—it’s not just limited to a newspaper.”

During the spring semester of her sophomore year, Roldan, 20, who was part of the Honors College at Wolfson Campus, was selected for the second annual Hispanicize student project, an annual event held in Miami for Latino innovators, trendsetters and news producers. The program offers training to students in multimedia journalism while covering the conference, using social media as the main platform.      

This past summer, Roldan interned in Miami at the Medill Justice Project, an award-winning investigative journalism program from Northwestern University, attending court hearings related to a murder case. She wrote several stories, including a 1,200-word feature story.

Her hard work paid off, earning her an academic scholarship to Emerson College in Boston where majors in journalism. Currently,she serves as deputy express editor at the Berkeley Beacon, Emerson College’s weekly student newspaper that is transitioning into a daily publication. She assigns and covers breaking news stories concerning Emerson College.

Allison Hagan, the Berkeley Beacon’s editor-in-chief, said Roldan’s passion for journalism stands out.  

“I still remember how enthusiastic she was about working on the Beacon. She thrived her first semester on staff despite having just transferred to Emerson,” Hagan said. “I am beyond appreciative of her presence in the newsroom. From her quick yet constructive editing, to her standout reporting, to her endearing personality, I couldn’t ask for more.”

Those who know Roldan say this is only the start.

“Riane is a rising star in the student journalism arena,” said Manolo Barco, the media adviser to The Reporter. “She is dedicated, diligent, hardworking and passionate about everything she does. She exemplifies the traits that make a great journalist.”