Haydee Barahona driven by passion for storytelling

Award-winning student journalist graduating this month with communications degree

By California State University, Bakersfield

May 1^st, 2024

Haydee Barahona knew she excelled at writing when she first came to California State University, Bakersfield in 2020, but she wasn’t sure what major would be the best fit for her.

Barahona applied to the university as a Spanish major, thinking she might want to become an interpreter, but quickly realized that wasn’t what she wanted. She also briefly majored in philosophy and art history.

It wasn’t until she took her first journalism class — Issues and Practices in Journalism — that Barahona realized that being a communications major was the right choice for her.

“I’ve always wanted to do something where I could serve the people in my community, and it wasn’t until I took this journalism class that I realized that this could actually help a lot of people,” she said. “Being a student here has changed the trajectory of my career plans and how I see my future.”

Barahona is preparing to graduate later this month with her bachelor’s in communications with a concentration in journalism. She’s not stopping there, as she’s already been admitted to University of California, Berkeley to pursue her master’s in journalism.

“I’m ready to close this chapter, as much as I’m going to miss it,” she said. “I’ve had the opportunity to meet so many different people. It’s been a really good experience here.”

Barahona has kept busy during her time at CSUB. In addition to her classes, she has been a major contributor to the student-run newspaper The Runner for more than two years. She is also representing CSUB as part of CalMatters’ Student Journalism Network, which brings together journalism students from across the state to report on higher education.

Barahona remembers how excited she was to see her first story published, titled “The Power of Women’s Work,” in which she interviewed female artists and CSUB alumni who use textile work as a creative medium.

“Seeing my name and a story I wrote being published somewhere was amazing,” she said. “I was sharing it with my whole family.”

Barahona was an editor in chief of The Runner from Spring 2023 through last fall, a role she didn’t anticipate getting when she first joined the newsroom as a social media manager.

“I had to step up and really trust myself to put out a great newspaper and lead this whole team of students. It gave me a lot more confidence,” she said.

Barahona has spent her last semester on campus serving as editor of The Runner’s annual Converge Magazine and as the translations editor for El Veloz, the paper’s Spanish publication.

Barahona helped establish El Veloz last semester. She got the idea to start a Spanish version of The Runner after meeting some Hispanic journalists at a conference. Barahona and other students involved with the paper did the translations themselves.

“I thought it would make sense to do something like this at CSUB given the population of students that we have,” she said. “I had been thinking about doing it for so long, but I never thought I would be in the position to make that kind of change on campus. It’s been a lot of hard work, but to me I think it’s so worth it.”

Barahona believes El Veloz has been successful at both an academic level and a personal level. Being Hispanic herself, she said it helped her connect more with her parents and give them a better idea of what she is studying.

While her parents understand English, that’s not the case for some students in the newsroom. Through the Spanish edition of The Runner, the parents of these students were finally able to read their children’s work.

Barahona poses for a photo with The Runner adviser John Harte after the newspaper received Best of Show awards by the Associated Collegiate Press.

The Runner received several top awards last year from the California College Media Association.

'A generational journalism student'

Barahona is also proud of the numerous state and national awards The Runner has received during her leadership. Last year, the Runner received a first-place award in general innovation at the California College Media Association (CCMA) Excellence in Student Media Awards for their strategies in reaching new audiences through vertical video storytelling on social media platforms.

The paper earned several CCMA awards this year, including first place in the best news series and page design categories. The Runner also received second-place awards in the feature story, photo series and sports photograph categories as well as a third-place spot in the best newspaper category.

The Runner also took home national awards this spring at the Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Conference, including fifth place in the feature magazine category and fifth in newspapers at campuses with fewer than 15,000 students.

“Seeing all of our work pay off is such a good feeling,” Barahona said. “At the end of the day, what I wanted to do was not only see myself succeed but all the students succeed. Seeing other people succeed has been one of my most fulfilling experiences as an editor.”

John Harte, a communications lecturer who has served as adviser for The Runner since last semester, said he was immediately impressed by Barahona.

“I would call her a generational journalism student. She’s someone who comes along with a skillset that you only see once in a while,” he said. “She’s really incredible with what she can do. She’s the whole package, a one-of-a-kind student.”

The School of Arts and Humanities agrees, having recently chosen Barahona as one of its Outstanding Students for the year.

Harte believes Barahona has made The Runner a better publication and is excited to see how she applies what she’s learned at CSUB to a career in journalism.

“Haydee’s going to leave a big legacy here,” he said. “I think she’s got a really big future ahead of her.”

While Barahona is looking forward to attending UC Berkeley this fall, she is also sad to be leaving CSUB — and The Runner — behind.

“I tried to train the students the best I can. I think they’re in great hands,” she said. “It’s a little scary, but I’m so excited to see what they do, the new ideas they come up with.”

Barahona hopes to return to work in Kern County as a reporter after getting her master’s. She is especially interested in writing about the Latino communities here.

“I want to report on what I know best, which is where I grew up in,” she said. “I feel I’ve really grown as a storyteller. I’m excited to see where the future takes me.”