If you know Marko Barrera, you know he brings the life of the party wherever he goes. For all 3 years, 1,095 days, and 26,298 hours he’s spent in the newsroom, he discovered his own passion for journalism and helped his fellow writers find it within themselves. 

   “I joined in the beginning of my sophomore year, and did not look back since.”

   Being the second of the Barrera Empire, Marko initially entered the class with nothing but his love for writing. Inspired by his older brother and former Student Life Editor Paolo, Marko admits, “I was excited by the fact that I didn’t know much about the journalism class because that kind of stuff intrigues me. And newspaper, or simply just journalism in general seemed interesting to me because I did enjoy writing, and I definitely did not regret that decision.” 

   From his enterance in sophomore year to his final days on Charter’s campus, Marko has been able to meet and make connections with staff that he’ll never forget. Even through the pandemic, he shares, “My sophomore year being completely remote didn’t stop the class from feeling like a family.” But it’s because of experiences like this that grew Marko closer to other writers, Mr. Fagen, and the class itself. “My interest in journalism was definitely a growing process, and over time it gradually increased. And I think everything about it factored into that–the people, the environment, and Mr. Fagen of course. His mentorship and leadership that he once gave my brother passed onto me… He was able to take me in comfortably, and I think because of that as well as my classmates and editors made me feel comfortable enough to grow and learn to find myself in the field of journalism.”

   In his time as an editor, Marko constantly taught newspaper’s staff to embrace their individuality as writers. As he exited the newsroom for the last time, he hoped to leave the underclassmen with a message of inspiration, “Learn to appreciate your classmates, peers, and editors, because it can go a long way in terms of learning to love newspaper, write better, and love what you write.” Of course, his expertise in journalism led those same students to learn to love it themselves.

   In the next four years, Marko plans on transitioning into the major of Sports Physiology at Florida State University (FSU), “It combines my passion for sports, as well as my goals and aspirations to head somewhere in the medical field.” Nonetheless, the Co-Managing Editor’s journalistic awakening proved just how limitless his future in sports medicine will be. 

   No matter where the future takes him, the class will forever remember the second Barrera: transforming the newspaper class into a family with every day!