The start of 2024 is also the start of a new semester at the University of Central Florida, which means a few new faces around Watermark’s Orlando office thanks to our participation in UCF’s Journalism Intern Pursuit program.
We thought it would be a good idea to introduce our readers to these eager journalism students by having them write a profile on each other. Below we get to know 2024 spring intern Bellanee Plaza.
Sophomore year of high school Bellanee Plaza walked into a magazine class at Barbara Goleman Senior High in Miami, not knowing what to expect or how it would affect her life from that point on. Her classmates had told her the class was a breeze, it was fun and the teacher was super nice, so she marked it down to fill an elective slot.
“I was just like ‘well, let’s see how it is,’” Plaza said.
What her classmates did not tell her was that the class was just as much about reporting as it was creativity and design.
“When I took that magazine class it opened up a new world for me because I had no clue that you could do these things from your computer, that you could be creative but still factual… that was what I really liked with the magazine side of journalism,” Plaza said.
After finding an interest in journalism through her class, Plaza joined her school’s yearbook club where her passion for it grew.
“From there we learned how to report, how to ask students questions, how to get stories from students or classmates and that really got me into it,” Plaza said.
This decision ended up inspiring her to set out on a path that led her to where she is today, studying journalism at the University of Central Florida and now becoming an intern at Watermark.
Along with her studies and internship, Plaza is also involved in many other journalistic avenues through UCF. She is a member of the UCF chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She also writes for the UCF student paper NSM Today as well as Her Campus, an online student-led magazine where she is a marketing director on their executive board.
With so many different responsibilities and activities she’s a part of, Plaza said that sometimes it can be difficult to manage everything and take a break.
“I’m always on my computer late at night or on my phone at dinner trying to get things done,” Plaza said. “I’m using a planner; I’m writing everything down because if I don’t, there’s no way to remember everything that’s going to happen.”
When she does find a moment to step away from work or school, she makes sure to let herself really rest.
“Sometimes I go ‘ok let me get off my computer and let me just drain my brain on my phone…’ even sometimes that’s not enough and I just need silence,” Plaza said.
Other times she gets her stress out by blasting music and zoning out to it.
All this helps her to manage everything she needs to do and continue to pursue her passion for journalism that began years ago back in her magazine class.
