Growing up, I never dreamed I would become a journalist. My parents were very active in social rights movements, and I always believed that the best way to make a difference was by being active in the solution. My father was a public defender and an active member of changing the system. He talked at three-strike protests, took me and my siblings to peace rallies, and worked with different groups to actively change the system for the better.  

Sadly, he passed away when I was ten years old from brain cancer. Before he passed away, he received an award for all of his work in social justice. He was unable to attend due to his health at the time, but he made an acceptance video that I still listen to today. In it, he talks about his relationship with facts. He gave the three-strike law a face by talking about his client who was sentenced to 25 to life for joyriding. He talked about his love of fighting the good fight and all the people he has met along the way. He also said a quote from Martin Luther King that really hit home when my dad explained its effect on him.

“‘Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve,’” he said while staring into the camera. “That’s certainly been true with my involvement in facts. Come serve with me.”

For me, journalism is a way to fight the good fight. It gives me a platform to show what is really happening. There are so many ways to serve and be a conduit of facts. For some, it is protesting to get the message out. For others, like my dad, it was working to free the people oppressed by a system that is not on their side. As for myself, I want to use journalism as a way to give people a platform to be heard.

Gabriel Zucker is a senior journalism student at Cal Poly Humboldt. He is the photo editor for The Lumberjack. He loves photojournalism and wants to use his platform as a journalist to give a voice to the voiceless.