OPINION: New editor, same Bridge

By Juan Carlos Puente
Editor-in-chief
Published Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024

Hello, TAMIU! My name is Juan Carlos Puente, newly appointed editor-in-chief for The Bridge. You may have seen my name on a handful of stories from last semester, or viewed my and my team’s Instagram work or on other various platforms, as I was The Bridge’s previous social media manager.

I’m currently a senior studying communication with a minor in marketing at Texas A&M International University, and am currently set to graduate in December of 2024. Until then, I plan to use all of my power to help elevate The Bridge to new forms of media as well as be as relevant and efficient as possible. Of course, none of this would be possible without the help of the rest of The Bridge staff along with  the help and mentorship of our adviser, Instructional Associate Professor Thomas Brown.

I had been in contact with Brown since I was a sophomore. There were courses such as Comic Book Writing, Media Writing, Journalistic Writing and he came to fill in for our broadcasting class taught by Associate Professor Jade Kim. Despite all that, it wasn’t until the last instance that I decided to join The Bridge. I had known about it and even wanted to join after the Journalistic Writing course, but I hesitated because of my social anxiety and overall self esteem.

After deciding to get my emotions sorted out via therapy and medication, I came out a new person ready to take on the challenges of the journalistic world. I asked to join The Bridge and even applied for an internship at KGNS—making it to the final selection, but was ultimately rejected due to lack of experience. Which is when I decided to use The Bridge as a platform to gain as much experience as possible in order to help achieve my goals.

After university, I would like to be a writer for broadcast media, or for any media really but preferably broadcast or print. With a healthy environment like The Bridge that allows each member to grow and gain experience, I have no doubt that with the help of the staff and Brown, I can gain the experience I need to make it in the professional world. I owe all my thanks to Brown and especially the previous Editor-in-chief Neto Gonzalez for inspiring me and showing me how things work. In this new position, I vow to not disappoint or fail Brown, Gonzalez, The Bridge staff and most importantly, TAMIU.