Alumni Q&A with Paola Magallanes: “The flexible tree survives the storm.”

October 22, 2025

By: Anthony Payne

Paola Magallanes was a 2025 Student Reporting Labs college climate reporting fellow. Her team’s story about a sustainable fashion initiative at Howard University recently went live on the PBS News Hour YouTube channel as part of the Second Nature series.

In this alumni Q&A, the advertising and business student at the University of Georgia shares  takeaways from her time with SRL, and describes how adopting a “go with the flow” attitude has shaped her values. 

This Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity.

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How did you first get involved with Student Reporting Labs?

I first got the information from a newsletter within UGA. Although I’m not a journalism major, it really spoke to me. I initially thought, ‘maybe I’m not a good fit for this…’ I just stopped myself from applying, until I realized that I had a good pitch. I was encouraged by some mentors, and I sent it out into the universe and then was accepted for the fellowship. I was pushing myself out of my comfort zone and realizing the only way I could grow as a young professional was taking myself into a new medium.

What are some of the things you’ve learned on this project? Any memorable moments that stick out?

I really became confident in myself and the skills that I have to offer. It also really provided me direction in my professional career, understanding what I was good at. I also really just felt supported. SRL believes in the students who work with them. As an organization, they’re truly their mission statement, and it really changed my life because it’s an experience that I continue to learn from. Everything that I did during that project I continue to apply to my life. It’s just a gift that keeps on giving. I have a lot of gratitude for my mentors and my team members. 

What inspires you?

My family is from Mexico. My great grandmother, she is – gosh – 96 years old and she went to the dumps where the US dropped their clothes, took anything that she could salvage, sewed it up, and made new clothing and garments that she sold for a living. The women in my family are a huge inspiration because they embody this idea that you have to get it done. It’s that sheer willpower to find a way to make it.

I definitely come from a family of a lot of women supporting each other, and that really inspires me. I see where we come from. I see where we started, and I have love for our beginnings. It gives me a lot of pride for where I am today. It’s the idea that “you are your ancestors wildest dreams,” that I’m doing stuff that my grandmother wasn’t even allowed to do when she was younger. She never went to college.

What are some of your career goals?

I would like to work in media strategy or media research sectors within advertising. Being able to have those research skills from my experience with PBS is something that has been really helpful for my career development. Ultimately – it sounds silly – but just slowing down my thought process was really helpful in translating the story that we were making and it definitely gave me confidence in those technical skills.

What do you remind yourself of in moments of stress?

 It’s actually a line from a song from [the artist] Little Simz. I love her new album. She has this one song where she says “keep going, brick by brick.” And that’s become one of my mantras. I’m the kind of person who has all these goals, and I’m like “okay why am I not achieving this by, say, 2 PM today?” I just remind myself that everything is gradual, everything is a process

What advice would you give to a high school student who’s looking for their path and doesn’t know where to start?

You’re never too young to make a difference.

I think young people honestly make the most difference in times of transitional periods in our nation. Your voice absolutely matters. That’s something tied to a previous experience that I had when I was 13. I was living in Florida at the time of the Parkland shooting, and it was definitely hard as a student. I was close to that, and it impacted me. But I got involved with volunteer efforts with March for Our Lives, and next thing I knew I was 13 years old and I was a production assistant for a Broadway benefit concert in New York. I still talk to the people that I met back then. 

It does not matter how old you are.  If you have a story, if you have a cause you believe in, you have to follow it. You have to listen to yourself and show your voice. That’s what truly matters. Trust in yourself and your creative expression, whether it’s dance, or music, or journalism, or even advertising. 

How did you know what you wanted to do?

A big thing was understanding that things are allowed to change, and you have to be receptive to that. Appreciate the path that you’re on now and understand that your profession and interests can change in the future, and that’s okay. If you told me two years ago that I would be interested in court cases about media rights, I would have laughed at you. But I really do enjoy it, and I’ve become passionate about it.

Just be flexible and fluid in yourself and in your surroundings because it’s like a tree in a storm. The flexible tree will survive.

What would you say your biggest accomplishment is so far?

I’m just proud of myself because I went from almost not even applying to SRL, thinking that maybe the story that I had didn’t matter, to realizing that it did matter and there were people who believed in me.

It sounds corny, but I needed to believe in myself first because you can’t accept new opportunities and new things into your life if you’re not receptive to it. What I’m doing now has been a huge part of being able to accept new opportunities in my life, both professional and personal. And I have SRL to thank for that. This project really made me more confident as a person and trusting in myself.