Victoria Valenzuela

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

ABOUT VICTORIA VALENZUELA

I am an ambitious early career journalist with a passion for social justice and storytelling. Journalism is my way of fighting for equity and accountability, exposing harm that would otherwise go overlooked or underreported, uplifting the voices of marginalized communities, and highlighting the important work of everyday people to make meaningful changes in society. I am particularly interested in writing about prison abolition, immigrant rights, gender issues, and movements. I have been published in over a dozen news outlets, held three internships and four fellowships, and last year I graduated from the University of Southern California with my master\'s degree in specialized journalism with a focus on social justice and investigations. I am also a two-time finalist in the Southern California Journalism Awards, most recently in the \"investigative reporting-government\" category last year for my reporting on California\'s prison-to-deportation pipeline. My biggest characteristics are that I am compassionate and emotional, and that I am stubborn and persistent. As a journalist, these traits serve me well: I am interested in telling real stories with empathy. I prioritize building trust with my sources and uplifting their voices and narratives. I value and respect everyone\'s time and perspective. I am also relentless when it comes to getting public records or a comment from government institutions. I believe that journalism has the power to uncover harm and expose abuse of power, so I aim to do so with my reporting.