Rachel Agana

Name: Rachel Agana
Year: Senior
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Pinole, California

You don’t have to live in New York or Los Angeles to build up experience for a career in mass media. If you are ardent, daring, and tenacious, anything is possible (even in cowtown). Rachel Agana is a model example of our dynamic and audacious generation. As a multimedia journalist, she takes full advantage of technology and social media to present her wide range of interests.

Rachel changed her major three times before figuring out a career in media is the path she wants to take. “It’s ok to change your mind; don’t fixate yourself,” the senior reflects. Some career paths may sound glamorous at first glance, but often, they differ completely from what you imagine. Rachel advises you, collegiette™, to volunteer at your dream workplace or shadow a professional before committing yourself to an affiliation. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to explore new challenges, as Rachel discovered her interest in media purely by accident.

An Aggie at heart, Rachel wants to showcase the diverse splendor of the UC Davis campus. Thus, her blog “I live UCD” featuring on Student Affairs website is born. She records her college adventures from apartment hunting to restaurants reviews to Davis traditions like Picnic Day. Her blog’s mission is to attest that “we are more than just a cow town.”

 Her role model and Writing Professor, Dr. Andy Jones, has shared that “for culturally-rich towns like LA or Berkeley, you just need to blend in and enjoy, but as for Davis, you are the creator of your own experience.” This statement complements many Aggies’ motto: “Davis is boring for boring people.” Always an explorer, Rachel benefits from hundreds of resources and student activities on campus. She interns for University Communications, where she learns various technologies to generate the best content possible for her other job as News Media Editor of AggieTV.  Under this title, the multitasker manages the website and social media of the student-run television station. In addition to everything else, she energetically assists in producing the latest project AggieTV Presents: UC Davis First LipDub, a single shot music video exhibiting the campus pride.

To expand herself outside of Davis acvitities, Rachel actively connects with other aspiring journalists as well as professionals through social networks. With countless online outlets such as Twitter and LinkedIn, it’s easy to find people who share the same passion. Other than networking, the Internet provides a free stage of expression. “With technology nowadays, there is no excuse. If you want to become a filmmaker, make a video; if you want to be a singer, record yourself on YouTube; if you want to become a writer, create a blog”, the self-starter advocates.

Chosen out of hundreds of applicants, the blogger represents the young Asian community through correspondance for MYX TV, an Asian-American Music Entertainment & Lifestyle Network. The channel gives her a new platform to freely express her colorful personality. She always encourages fellow students to join professional organizations in their field as they give opportunities to meet mentors as well as to apply for scholarships and programs tailored to students with those interests. Proving the value of her advice, Rachel landed the ultimate summer job of covering the annual convention of Asian American Journalists Association in Detroit, Michigan. Besides getting an inside look of the industry, the program will also teach her skills to develop into a mobile journalist.

As Rachel enjoys her last weeks of college before entering the workforce, the lyrics of a Disney song from the band “Lemonade Mouth” swirls through her mind, keeping her young fire of motivation and ambition burning:  “We’re gonna just let go of everything holding back our dreams […] We were meant to be Somebody.”

Links:
Official Website: http://rachelagana.com/
UC Davis Student Affairs’ Blog: http://iliveucd.wordpress.com/
AggieTV Presents UC Davis LipDub: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpRZOeDAcwo

Edited by: Brianna Frisch