Senior Send-off 2022: Jazlyn Gomez

Growing up, my dad would make my brother and I read the newspaper everyday. He would come home from work, hand us the latest issue and ask us to read it out loud to him. Even though I was only a child, I understood the importance of doing this one small thing for my father. 

Sometimes when your parents are immigrants and your entire world is foreign to them, words help to string together their world and yours. The Spanish newspaper, La Voz de Indiana, became a staple in our home. As the publication unknowingly helped me to understand my parents point of view, it helped create a conversation at our family dinners.

Ever since my dad started this tradition, I became more interested in telling stories, connecting people and creating stories. I grew up with a fascination of listening to others and gaining as much of their perspective as I could. Throughout the years of my life, I would develop my storytelling skills through multiple mediums.

Coming to the University of Indianapolis, I could not have imagined the opportunities I have gotten and how much I have achieved. During my time here, I created memories I will never forget and I have learned lessons I will carry with me. Primarily, I got the opportunity to create and tell stories.

Whether it was on UIndyTV, UIndy Radio or The Reflector, I got to express myself and helped others express themselves as well. I got to interact with the world around me in so many different ways and connect others together. 

Despite the struggles and hardships I faced while studying here—and boy, did I have plenty of those—I would do it all over again. Because even when times became hard, I still wanted to tell stories. Through all of my broadcasts, on-air shifts, articles and editorial cartoons I did what I have always loved doing the most since I was a child. 

UIndy opened many doors for me and gave me the chance to see who I could be. Most importantly, it helped me become who I am now. I became the person who can connect two different people with a simple string. I got the ability to start my way of becoming what La Voz de Indiana meant to my family for others. 

As I look back at the past four years, I can only hope my dad is proud of me, wherever he is. I owe him and my family a lot for how far I have come.