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I first saw NYU's NYC Values when it won ONA's David Teeuwen Student Journalism Award. I was struck by the way it captured the wonder and diversity of New York City through the many languages spoken by its residents. I've shown this project to every single one of my digital storytelling classes. While they gushed over the storytelling aspects of the project, they didn't think they could pull off something so advanced. We're a community college and our resources are limited.

But in 2019, Alinna Boonklun enrolled in my newswriting class. Already armed with a BA in film studies from San Francisco State University, she was taking a gap year while applying to grad schools and wanted to upgrade her journalistic writing and editing skills. It was obvious that Alinna was talented in ways not usually seen at a beginner's level, so I hired her as a multimedia tutor. Alinna was excited to assist the students in this project and the project began.

The idea was simple: We would ask our very diverse campus population one question: What is your idea of the perfect life?

We found that we have more things in common than not, no matter what our cultural backgrounds and upbringings. We realize there is no such thing as a perfect life, but one that includes love, health, financial security, family and friends helps .

We thank those journalism grad students in the the Studio 21 program at NYU for their vision.

And on a personal note, I want to thank NYU for recognizing Alinna's talent. She was accepted into the film studies grad program and will be starting in the fall! 

 

With love and respect,

-Toni Albertson, Professor of Journalism and Student Media Adviser, Mt. San Antonio College