Guadalupe Abarca Vazquez is the editor-in-chief of Pacer NYC. She assumed the role this fall after the four-year-old student news organization was named “The Best Newspaper” in the city at the Baruch College High School Journalism awards. Abarca joined the Pacer staff as a reporter when she was a junior. In the spring semester she stepped up to be the social media editor, as well as a culture section editor. This past summer she attended Press Pass NYC’s editor bootcamp training.
Abarca spoke with Pacer NYC about her new role and plans for the student news site this year.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
How did you get interested in journalism?
I had been planning to do journalism since sophomore year, and writing is something I like. I wanted to join the class but had other things that took away the time. Last year I got the chance to join this class, and after that I just showed that I wanted to really be a big part of journalism.
What are your plans for the Pacer this year?
I am always eager to learn, create, and share my voice with the community. As editor-in-chief, I look forward to covering more serious informational topics this year. To continuously publish stories so that our newspapers’ views and popularity rises and we become entertaining to students.
What were some of the best things that you did last year with the Pacer and in journalism?
I found this out after doing it, but I like doing interviews with people and finding out what they do and why they do it. I like talking to people.
I know you worked a lot on social media and ran the Instagram account in the second semester.
Yeah, it was fun to try and find things that kids at my age would enjoy watching. I enjoyed designing templates to promote our stories and coming up with what stories to cover.
What are you gonna do this year with social media?
I’m gonna train current staff writer students to help me with the social media account and, of course, we’re gonna catch up to the trending media.
What are some other interests and passions you have at Pace?.
Another passion I have is sports. I run with the cross country team in the fall and the track team in the spring. I really like being a part of a team and being a leader.
