She’s been to the big city, lived by the beach and experienced everything Los Angeles could throw at her. Now she’s back in her hometown to start her journalism career.
“Growing up in a small town like Gilroy I always new I wanted to go to school in a big city,” said 22-year-old Lori Stuenkel, a recent University of Southern California graduate and the new education reporter for The Dispatch. “I really enjoyed my four years in LA, but I was ready to come back. I know I’ve only been away for a few years, but Gilroy’s really changed a lot, and I feel like I’ve missed out.”
Coming back to the town where she grew up, Stuenkel will have plenty of chances to catch up with old teachers and school administrators while working the education beat for The Dispatch.
“It’s weird interviewing people in the school district because a lot of them say they remember me,” said Stuenkel, who graduated from Gilroy High School in 1999. “But I think my background here will help me.”
Stuenkel said working as a reporter for several years at The USC Daily Trojan student newspaper has prepared her for her new job.
Taking the education beat, she hopes her proficiency in Spanish will help her make connections with Gilroy’s large Spanish-speaking community. Stuenkel is the only Dispatch reporter fluent in Spanish.
“I think Spanish is something I can use in this job,” she said. “I see it as a way to reach more people in the community.”
After receiving her journalism degree from USC in December, Stuenkel spent her days surfing at Hermosa Beach and working at a coffee shop. When she saw an opening at her hometown newspaper, she knew it would be a perfect fit.
Dispatch Executive Editor Mark Derry had the same thought when he selected Stuenkel from a long list of interested candidates,
“I think Lori’s local knowledge will help her get off to a fast start,” he said. “She’s a hard worker with goals for a journalism career. When you add that with her knowledge of the community, she’s a good fit for a local paper.”
Stuenkel agrees.
“I grew up reading The Dispatch,” she said. “Right away I could see myself working here.”
