“A lot of fiction draws from reality, and so I figured I wanted to tell stories in my own way, and kind of found that through journalism,” said senior multimedia journalism major Gabrielle Feliciano.
Feliciano’s love for the arts and entertainment began as early as she can remember. Whether taking art classes or devouring countless comic books, she always immersed herself in creating or consuming media. For a while, she considered pursuing art school but was not fully committed to the prospect of creating art as a career.
Her perspective shifted during her senior year of high school when she took a journalism class. That experience solidified her decision to pursue journalism, leading her to move from Chicago to Pullman to attend WSU.
“Pretty last minute in terms of my grade school years,” Feliciano said. “I think I took my first journalism class when I was in my senior year of high school, and so I decided to apply to WSU as a multimedia journalism major.”
This decision has paid off, as Feliciano will graduate this semester with a bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism.
Feliciano began working for The Daily Evergreen in 2022 during her second semester at WSU. Even as a freshman, she was eager to start building her career but faced challenges in navigating the transition to becoming a journalist.
“I kind of overwork myself sometimes,” Feliciano said. “I really like working, and definitely because I’m in this period of time — being in university — that I feel like I should be pushing myself to further my career. One of my biggest struggles in my freshman year, when you’re not really doing anything and there’s not really much you can do, I felt I was kind of slow to get the ball rolling in terms of my career.”
Once she began reporting, Feliciano adapted to the fast-paced demands of journalism. She started by covering smaller community events and eventually tackled major stories. One of her earliest significant assignments was her award-winning reporting on the opening of Mary’s Park, an ADA-accessible park in Pullman.
“It was a big deal to me,” Feliciano said.
As a former Life editor and current copy editor for The Daily Evergreen, Feliciano now spends her Tuesdays and Wednesdays refining articles before they go to print. Her role requires a strong command of journalistic standards, including AP style, newsworthiness and structure.
Lauren Rendahl, chief copy editor for The Daily Evergreen, works closely with Feliciano and describes her as a reliable and highly skilled team member.
“I always have a person to rely on, and I always know I can go to her,” Rendahl said. “She is always super knowledgeable, always knows what’s happening. She’s a good, reliable person.”
Feliciano recently accepted a position at The Miner in Newport, Washington. The job aligns with her passion for feature writing, particularly in arts, entertainment and community topics.
“My dream job, quote-unquote, would be to write features, especially arts and entertainment, and also community for some major publication or magazine,” Feliciano said. “Any publication that would allow me to do that longer stuff, as opposed to purely focusing on a daily grind or short-form stories. I kind of prefer the longer stuff that goes in-depth into stuff I really like.”
While Feliciano is familiar with rural reporting after her time in Pullman and Moscow, she envisions moving to a major West Coast city in the future to expand her audience and opportunities.
“Of course, rural reporting is very important, and it will always have a special place in my heart because I’ve been doing it for so long, living in Pullman and Moscow and getting most of my journalistic experience in this area,” Feliciano said. “But for me, again, to reach the audiences I want to reach, I would probably move to a more major city, like Seattle or on the West Coast.”
