Myrka Moreno is a St. Edward’s Hilltop Views alumna working as an audience engagement producer at The 19th. She manages all of their social media platforms. Moreno entered St. Edward’s University in 2015 as part of the College Assistant Migrant Program (CAMP) with the intention to study graphic design. She did not go into college to pursue a career in journalism. 

Moreno first became interested in journalism when she picked up an issue of Hilltop Views in the Fall of 2015. Her passion for journalism began to grow after attending an involvement fair in the spring of 2016. 

“I went to budget meetings for Hilltop Views. I was too shy and sat in the back at first,” Moreno said.

Editor-in-chief at the time Rosemond Crown encouraged Moreno to write articles for Hilltop Views. By the end of the semester, Moreno was asked to be a social media editor working with Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

“Hilltop Views taught me how to work collaboratively in the newsroom, confidently approach people and form close connections with other journalism students and professors, like Dr. Curt Yowell,” Moreno said. “I couldn’t have imagined not working with them and getting to know them.” 

While working for Hilltop Views, Moreno wrote articles about celebrities, covered St. Edward’s 2016 Homecoming Casino Night and participated in a Facebook live show. 

“I wanted to write things, read things, create,” Moreno said. “Talking to people was one of the hardest parts.” 

Initially, she was insecure in her work, but she became more comfortable as she continued to write. Journalism required Moreno to become a social person, learn how to start conversations and be persistent in following up with people. 

“When I was a news editor, I had at least three different sources for three different stories,” Moreno said. 

She began to love representing people through storytelling. Over time, “interviewing people became a passion project,” Moreno said.

After graduation, she felt lost trying to find internships outside of Hilltop Views. She eventually landed a job at The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsroom based in Austin. The news organization focuses their coverage on the intersection of gender, politics and policy.

Moreno now works as an audience engagement producer at The 19th, where she manages socials with a co-producer. Together they run the company’s social media campaign on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The job includes promoting daily and feature stories and developing larger social plans. Moreno edits stories, plans events for sponsors and manages events that engage with the audience. 

For new St. Edward’s graduates, Moreno said that students should find what their passions are. 

“If it’s not something you’re passionate about, it’s hard to force yourself to like it and hard to sell yourself for a company job,” Moreno said. “Apply for jobs that you align with and think they align with you.” 

Moreno remembers many late nights putting issues together for Hilltop Views. “[The work] starts off productive, then we hit a wall,” said Moreno.

One of her favorite memories was a late night when she, along with other writers and editors, worked in one of St. Edward’s older buildings. It was cold and windy, and the window got stuck open. Everyone tried, unsuccessfully, to close the window. Eventually, they moved to another building because they didn’t have time to deal with the broken window. 

“It was times like those that built comradery which made it fun and brought us together,” Moreno said. “Forming close bonds with other journalism students was encouraging and helpful for my career.”