“Opportunities aren’t going to wait for you” Alum Natalie Erzal on making the most of college
Date: March 18, 2026
By: Anthony Payne
Natalie Erzal attended the SRL Winter Academy in 2023 and produced a story for On Our Minds: Election 2024. Now a journalism and pre-law student at the University of Texas at Austin, she shares how she found her interests, nourished them, and now thrives at a school that feels just right for her.
This Q&A has been lightly edited for clarity.
How did you discern that journalism and media was your passion?
My sister encouraged me to take AV classes my freshman year, and I ended up taking them all four years. It’s just something that I really enjoyed and fell in love with – and I was good at it. And then I attended SRL’s Summer Academy in 2023, and that kind of solidified my decision that that’s what I wanted to go to college for.
I like sharing people’s stories, whether that’s in a political sense or otherwise. I did a segment for the on On Our Minds: Election 2024 podcast. I just like telling people’s stories and sharing the facts.
What are you involved in at UT Austin?
I did an internship for the Austin Film Festival, basically editing social media videos for them. I felt like I needed to do something while not at school because I’m the type of person where I like to be working all the time. It’s so weird and it gets exhausting… but it’s me. I applied for the Austin Film Festival because I’d gone to the festival for two years and I thought it’d be like a good thing for my resume and a good place to network.
I also worked for The Daily Texan, my school paper, as a general video producer. And I’m on the equestrian team at UT. I love it.
What did you do to end up at a school that you love?
It was kind of a given for me that I wanted to go here. Obviously everyone applying has the worries of whether or not you’re going to get accepted. And that was a big thing with me because I didn’t really have the best grades in high school. I also knew I didn’t really want to go out of state. But the biggest thing to consider is your major and what kinds of programs they have for that at schools you’re applying to..
You should pick the school you think you’ll get the most out of. UT has so many organizations and clubs and professors. It’s just a great place to network and learn. You have to think about extracurriculars also. The Daily Texan is one of the top newspapers in Texas and getting to work for them has just made me grow a lot as a journalist and learning from other people who have the same passions has been so helpful.
What motivates you to work in this industry?
I’ve always had a passion for storytelling, and I think that the main goal I’m focused on is to just share people’s stories that need to be shared. There are things that are important in our world and in our society that aren’t covered as often, or aren’t covered as truthfully as we’d expect from the regular news. Advocating for others is why I do journalism and why I ultimately want to go into law – so I can advocate for the people that need it.
What reminders-to-self do you return to in times of doubt?
My dad used to tell me that whenever there’s something that I’m nervous about, a big job interview or an internship, even whenever I was applying for colleges, he’d always tell me just to hope for the best but expect the worst. It makes it easier to get over myself if I do get rejected, and I can move on fast and forward. Something I’ve always gone by was to not let one bad day stop you from reaching your goals.
I don’t even know if I can see myself giving up anymore. I feel like a lot of people who have so much talent give up, especially in the film industry. But the people who keep on pushing through eventually get to their successes. Everything doesn’t need to be perfect right away.
Who are some teachers or mentors who have really made an impact on you?
My high school AV teacher, Trina Moore. Oh my gosh. She’s like my favorite person ever and I still text her to this day. Even though I already graduated and she’s retired – and actually works with SRL as an ambassador out in Minnesota. She’s so amazing and I love her so much, and she’s really pushed me to be the person that I am today and out of my comfort zone. I could talk so highly of her for hours. I took her AV classes all four years, and if you were to see me my freshman year of high school, I was so shy, I wouldn’t even do the announcements. Cut to my senior year doing the podcast for SRL, and eventually making it to The Daily Texan and being able to anchor at KUTX. It’s super cool and super amazing that she motivated me.
I’m also really inspired by Tara Bordeaux and Gil Garcia. They both mentored me at the SRL Winter Academy and they’ve stayed really close to my heart because they really boosted my confidence and my skills, and made me take this industry seriously, as a profession. And I don’t think that I would be at UT if it weren’t for them
Any advice for high school students?
These opportunities aren’t going to wait for you. You have to jump after them and take every single opportunity that you’re given. That’s something that I did in high school, and I feel like after like a year or two of putting myself out there I kind of realized ‘oh, I’m actually getting better at the things I want to do well.’
Do the best that you can where you’re at, take these opportunities, whether that’s applying for SRL or even applying to job shadow somewhere, just look for little things and spend time meeting people that are also as passionate as you are. That will make you feel a lot more ready and a lot more at home with things that you might be uncomfortable with. Really really reach for it if you really want it, and don’t wait for things to come to you. You’ll just be just waiting even longer.
Have confidence in yourself and believe that everything happens for a reason. You will learn from every opportunity, whether it’s good or bad.