Inaugural Tracy Wood Fellow continues to impress, earning admission to University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to pursue her master’s degree.
Hicks has been filing stories for Voice of OC since her Freshman year and just this last year, her coverage has included Mission Viejo city council, Cypress, Animal Shelters, Election Coverage and much, much more.
As a freshman at Chapman University, Hicks earned early distinction for her journalism by following the City of Mission Viejo.
An agenda item regarding a closed session meeting she wrote about led to residents finding out about a proposed redevelopment of a local shopping center. Her continued coverage brought the debate into the light and allowed residents to weigh and even file lawsuits. It was work like that that earned her distinction as the inaugural Tracy Woods Fellow, named after the newsroom’s legendary Civic Editor who passed away in 2020.
“I had never done civic coverage, city council, local government before Voice and Chapman so that really gave me a strong foundation for the type of reporting that is really important,” Hicks said.
“Angelina continues to do a stellar job of doing the hard work it takes to cover public agencies, developing strong sourcing, meeting coverage and public records skills. She’s also become a leader in our Collegiate News Service helping other students tackle really tough stories with great impact,” said Voice of OC Publisher and Editor in Chief, Norberto Santana, Jr.
“She’s a great storyteller and really takes to heart the basic mission of public affairs journalism,” Santana added,” which is to keep local residents informed and relevant when it comes to defending their quality of life.”
Hicks said she appreciates the opportunity to work as a student journalist at Voice, being able to experience how a professional newsroom works. She’s excited to move into a new environment and learn new things, new resources and meet new people as she enters USC this fall. Meeting with the program director and being considered for scholarship, Hicks can’t believe it’s all really happening.
“USC offers such a robust alumni network and becoming part of that community, I’m really excited for that,” Hicks said. “Also the resources they have on campus, it’s amazing…it’s all very cool and I know that it’s a place I’ll love.”
Chapman’s Journalism Director of English Department Prof. Susan Paterno notes that “Angelina represents the best of what Chapman’s journalism program has to offer…She is a joy to work with: passionate, hard-working, persistent and smart, one of the most talented students I’ve had the privilege to supervise. She will no doubt in her graduate studies and her career continue doing what she has done so well as an undergraduate: Standing up for truth, accuracy and the public’s right to know.”