On Monday, July 28, the Press-Banner welcomed reporter Patricia Sousa as the newest member of the publication’s news staff.
Sousa, 23, hails from Watsonville and is a recent graduate of Cabrillo College, where she earned degrees in journalism, liberal arts, and culinary studies.
She will begin attending classes at San Jose State University in the fall, where she will be working toward earning a bachelor of arts degree in journalism.
As a member of the Press-Banner’s staff, she said that she looks forward to getting to know the communities and people of the Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley areas.
“I look forward to writing and interviewing, and I’m looking forward to meeting people,” Sousa said. “I just like to talk to people and find out what they do with their lives – everyone’s different.”
She will be working alongside longtime Press-Banner reporter Joe Shreve, who is currently handling editorial duties.
He said that he was already impressed by Sousa’s writing ability and inquisitive personality.
“Patricia is a go-getter, she’s prepared, and eager to learn – that’s the makings of an outstanding reporter,” Shreve said. “She’s going to do a terrific job and we’re lucky to have her.”
During her time at Cabrillo, Sousa served as editor of the news desk for the Cabrillo Voice campus newspaper, and also secured an internship at KSCO AM 1080 in Santa Cruz, where she has had the opportunity to be on the air.
Sousa said that her inspiration to become a journalist came from a mentor she had while she was in middle school.
“He said that I had a gift for writing that I didn’t know I had – imagination in writing,” she said.
From that point on, Sousa said, she sought out any chance to write – including a turn on the staff of the yearbook at Mt. Madonna School, from which she graduated in 2009.
In her spare time, Sousa said that she enjoys cooking, cycling, photography, as well as singing and composing songs to play on the guitar.
