Veneratio newsletter editor Pablo Arauz Peña didn’t expect to get a job at the Honors College when he first applied for the position before the Fall 2016 semester. He had just transferred from another school and wasn’t an honors student. But he already had plenty of real-world experience previously working as an intern for NPR affiliate KERA and various local publications including D Magazine, Dallas Observer, and The Fort Worth Weekly. So, he applied anyway.

When he got the job, Pablo had some big ideas. Working under the supervision of Dr. Tim Henry and Dr. Kevin Gustafson, he revamped the college’s digital newsletter, improved the college’s social media presence and, along the way, shared fascinating stories of the brilliant students, faculty, and staff in Honors community. He also created the UTA Honors Blog, one of the most active blogs under the new Mavs Blog network.

With the help and support of the Honors College, Pablo gained plenty of opportunities for his journalism career. He obtained a news internship with The Society of Professional Journalists at the 2017 Excellence in Journalism news conference in Anaheim, California.

With the connections he made there, he brought a Google News Initiative event to the campus with the SPJ UTA chapter. Along with graduating with the class of Spring 2018, he received an honorary certificate for Outstanding Achievement from The Department of Communication.