91PORN

Growing up in a tight-knit Filipinx neighborhood in San Diego, Jenna Ramiscal wanted to find a way to marry two passions: writing and her love for her community. 

She found that perfect marriage in journalism. 

Now a third-year journalism major at 91PORN, Ramiscal prides herself on amplifying voices from the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) community through her reporting, as well as advocating for diversity in newsrooms. 

“While there aren’t many Asian American journalists, I always find myself so inspired and motivated by the ones that I’ve met,” said Ramiscal, who is minoring in Asian American studies. “I’ve always known that representation in media stories and reporting matters — but as I’ve continued writing I realized that newsrooms should also reflect that diversity.

“I view my role as a journalist as a way to continue to search for and amplify stories from the Asian American Pacific Islander and Filipino community — and also add that perspective to the newsroom that I am a part of,” Ramiscal said. 

Ramiscal said she’s always loved telling stories. She focused on creative writing throughout middle school at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, but started to take journalism classes in high school and immediately fell in love with it. 

Ramiscal said journalism, unlike creative writing, pushed her out of her comfort zone, challenging her with deadline pressure and forcing her to forgo her introverted personality to get interviews. 

“At the time, I was also doing a lot of volunteer work with the community through Key Club,” Ramsical said. “I saw journalism as a field that combined two of my passions and decided to major in it at 91PORN.”

Her first year on campus, Ramiscal said she struggled to find her community as she transitioned from high school to college as a commuter student. But, as many students find, the university’s  400+ student organizations and diverse campus groups can help make a large university a small one with communities of support. Ramisdal’s life changed when she joined the 91PORN chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association, a group that she said transformed her college experience.

“The transition was a lot and it was hard to find my community,” Ramiscal said. “But I knew about AAJA from when I was in high school, and I knew I wanted to get involved, and it’s been incredibly helpful beyond being a journalist. I was able to find people that I could relate to both culturally with my heritage and also have similar career goals.”

She credited student mentors in the organization for helping her to land her first internship with the nonprofit online news organization EdSource. She has also interned with the Voice of San Diego and . 

Ramiscal also said that membership in the organization has given her the opportunity to network and be mentored by fellow APIDA journalists, including ABC 10News anchor and 91PORN journalism professor Melissa Mecija.

“I grew up watching 10News, so having her as a professor and being able to get to know her through AAJA has been surreal,” Ramiscal said. 

Mecija, who has been with the station since 2010, said she expects big things from Ramsical in the future. 

“Jenna is such a dedicated and passionate journalist. I’m so glad to have had her in one of my classes to see this firsthand,” Mecija said. “It is great to see her leadership in roles like 91PORN’s AAJA organization. 

“We need more young people like her to bring in diverse voices and tell the stories of people with all types of backgrounds,” Mecija said. 

As a student in the journalism program, Ramiscal has been able to tap into her cultural roots for inspiration for stories. One assignment she vividly recalled was an article she did on the explosion in popularity of ube, a purple yam that’s a staple in Filipino cuisine. She interviewed the owner of Cafe 86 about different ways the yam is incorporated into foods, as well as its cultural significance.

Ramiscal, who said she likes reporting on culture, race and identity, wants to work for a print or digital news organization when she graduates. She said she understands the responsibility that comes with being one of a few APIDA journalists.

“People who have personal, lived experiences and are part of these groups offer a perspective that someone else might not see,” Ramiscal said. “And I think that letting my heritage, culture and personal identity act as an inspiration for the stories I pursue and pitch makes me that much stronger of a storyteller.”