Jailene Escutia-Chavez is the Journalism Department 2019 Honoree

Congratulations Jailene Escutia-Chavez, the 2019 Journalism Department honoree. Escutia-Chavez will speak at the Journalism Department graduation celebration and will be recognized at the SF State Undergraduate Honors Convocation.

Journalism faculty nominate students based on GPA and their journalism work in the department and then vote on the nominees.

“Jailene is an outstanding student and we are proud that she will represent us at the honors convocation,” Department Chair Cristina Azocar said.

Escutia-Chavez is the youngest of five children and is a first generation college student. Her parents moved to Ventura, CA from Michoacan, Mexico after her mother suffered four still born children. After moving she had five children who have now all graduated from college.

Escutia-Chavez transferred to SF State from Yuba College two years ago and has been working hard in the department ever since. She is currently the opinion editor on Golden Gate Express and minoring in education. She is also a supervisor at Starbucks.

“Seeing other people work hard makes me want to push hard,” Escutia-Chavez said. “No one ever takes journalism lightly.”

Escutia-Chavez recently had an interview to get her teaching credential and is pursuing a master’s degree in education at Sacramento State University to work in administration. Her goal is to advocate for kids and teachers and to ensure all voices are heard in the education system.

“I knew journalism was going to be challenging after hearing a peer say completing his journalism minor was more difficult than being a computer science major,” Escutia-Chavez said. “So finally reaching the last leg of my degree at SF State and being honored as the department honoree feels super rewarding after the continuous pressure I put on myself to fulfill mine and my parents dream of being a first generation graduate.”