An early fervor

I've always had an obsession with sport.

Raised in a Mexican-American low-income household, I seldom had the chance to play sports, but I had gained an unmitigated sense of thrill from it at an early age. When I finally started playing soccer, I wasn't particularly good at it. I always enjoyed watching sports-adjacent videos on YouTube and still can't help but feel the profound intensity of every snap of Chicago Bears football. Even as a child, I found a love for sport as an avenue for telling stories, entertainment and making people laugh. That love was later expanded when I was introduced to broadcast in high school and discovered sports talk radio. And when I first listened to reporters do their hits on the air, it unearthed an obsession for knowledge acquisition.

But what happens when the fork meets the road?

As the son of Mexican immigrant parents who went on to become business owners, I had two choices:  continue the family business at La Esperanza Bakery or to pick up a practical major in college. 

I did neither.

After a semester at a small liberal arts school. Augustana College, where I thought I'd major in business, I decided transferred to the University of Illinois. Taking a circuitous route to the U of I allowed me to reevaluate and solidify my goal. And when I arrived on campus I found an abundance in opportunity to tap into what I really wanted to pursue: sports journalism. I made the decision to pursue journalism as my major and committed to sports journalism.

It culminates in a dream, that involves a steep climb, but I'm ready.

When I made listening to sports talk radio, and particularly, reporters on the radio, I had no idea I would pursue it as a career, all I knew was that I loved it. And I was enamored with the concept of knowledge acquisition.

Despite the challenges that have surfaced since my commitment to sports journalism as a career, my passion persists. I've been told to have a serious back-up plan by high profile people in the industry, I was initially rejected from the University of Illinois and of course, I've been handed countless internship rejection letters. But despite the amount of times I've been knocked down, I continue to get back up. I continue to elevate my skills, tell stories, write passionately, practice my on-air skills in hopes of  entertaining and making people smarter.

The further I continue to ascend in this industry, the more I begin to realize the parallels between my parents' professional journey and my own. Bot navigating a foreign and sometimes, not so welcoming world with a difficult sets of circumstances. 

Being on the front lines, talking to players, coaches, making content and chronicling the stories of those involves and all of those in between has been a rewarding experience. But I do it cognizant of the power journalism to exact a positive change through its power of scrutiny and attention.