by Alyanna Chio
Bryan Ezra C. Gonzales is currently a third year journalism student at the University of the Philippines Diliman. A very nationalistic student, his greatest passions include political science and history. For Bryan, his greatest achievement is “conquering my past and family background to become a youth activist. Both my best decision at basically yun talaga yung kinaka-proud ko.”
Before entering UP, Bryan was highly involved in his school newspaper throughout his high school. He initially wanted to take up a degree in either political science or history, but eventually decided to take up journalism instead because of his journalistic background.
He considered journalism as a pre-law, but after spending some time in the university, he discovered some new interests such as sociology. “Nainspire ako ni Dr. Gerardo Lanuzo, at new found interest ko siya,” said Bryan. After graduation, he wishes to take a master’s degree in sociology and at the same time serve as a professor at the Mindanao State University.
When asked about his best journalistic experience, he says that his most memorable coverage was the papal visit because “dun ko na-practice halos lahat ng tinuturo about multimedia journ. Naexpose ako sa mga basic challenges na kinahaharap ng mga reporter. sobrang tiring pero sobrang fulfilling. kasi after that coverage,I started to believe in God again.”
Despite his very busy academic life, Bryan tries to be active in many student organizations and publications. Currently, Bryan’s affiliations include STAND UP CMC, Alay Sining, UP Aperture, UP Kasaysayan, the UP Journalism club, and Tinig ng Plaridel where he was former deputy news editor. As of now, Bryan is also a trainee reporter for Manila Today.
Bryan’s advice to students who aspire to become journalists is, “write with a bias for the marginalized, those at the bottom of the social triangle, because they are the manifestation of all the ills coming from the top. Also, you have to be passionate about the course because journalism is not for the faint-hearted.”
As part of the promotions of the Campus Journalism Workshop UP Diliman, members of the UP Journalism Club (UPJC) wrote personality sketches about each other, highlighting the skills participants can learn from the workshop.
Alyanna Chio is a first year journalism student at the College of Mass Communication. When she is not writing, Alyanna engages in her other passion: music.
