Susan Barnett

Specialty: Bilingual multimedia journalism 
Areas of interest: Latinx and underserved communities, the U.S.-Mexico border
Undergraduate degree: B.A. in Communication with a minor in Journalism and Political Science at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College
Hometown: Tucson, Arizona 
Background/goals: I come from an immigrant family who taught me the importance of getting an education and advancing my family's future generations. I am the first and only U.S. citizen in my family which gave me the privilege of having the opportunity to get an education for free (with my intellect and ambition at the forefront, of course).

My goal is to write to, from and for my Latinx and immigrant community here in Tucson. I love Tucson and see myself living and working here after I graduate doing multimedia journalism and covering issues at the border. As a child of immigrants, I have a shared experience with others like me of feeling like our voices don't matter. I want to amplify the voices of the future generation and create community through my journalism. I have worked at the Arizona Daily Star and La Estrella de Tucson, the Star's now non-existent Spanish sister newspaper.

I hope to work as a freelancer or at a news start up that values their journalists. Eventually I would like to become a documentary filmmaker shedding light to humanitarian issues in the borderlands. 
Why UA?: I chose the UA because I didn't want to leave my hometown and family. Additionally, I met Jessica Retis when she was a professor in my undergraduate, who continuously encouraged me. If I had gone elsewhere, I felt I wouldn't have had the same familial and institutional support I have now.