AMHERST — University of Massachusetts Amherst senior and journalism major James Villalobos has been selected as a co-winner of Fuse and Voto Latino’s “Crash the Parties” contest. His prize — covering the Republican National Convention.
Villalobos, who reported from the White House in May as part of Newsroom U, was selected following a process that featured media figures for judges, including Rachel Maddow from MSNBC.
The program is a collaboration between Fuse, a TV station, and Voto Latino, a national nonprofit co-founded by actress Rosario Dawson, in an effort to give Latino millennials opportunities in media.
Villalobos, who is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, was one of two young Latino journalists selected from 200 applicants to go on to cover the Republican National Convention in Cleveland from July 18 to 21. He will be Fuse’s TV and online reporter during that time, providing updates on the convention as it unfolds.
When first applying for the program Villalobos said, “I was hesitant, I figured my odds were very slim.” But as public voting progressed and he was eventually chosen by the judges, he said he was “completely speechless.”
Asked how he is feeling now about the chance to attend the convention, Villalobos said that he is “Nervous, anxious, all of the above.”
With Donald Trump the presumed Republican nominee, Villalobos expects to have plenty to report on when he arrives.
“We are definitely preparing for protests,” he said, though he emphasized that his goal will be to tune out the noise and simply “tell the story.”
Villalobos, who is the son of Costa Rican immigrants, said that it is important to him that this program helps Latino students get their voices out into the world. Part of his drive to participate in the convention, he said, comes from a desire to “put a face on Latinos.”
“I do believe we need more representation of Latinos,” he said, noting that as a voting group Latinos will be a major factor in this year’s election.
Kathy Forde, the director of UMass’s journalism department, said in a press release that Villalobos is “a stand-out in the journalism department,” applauding him for a number of other achievements in the field, such as traveling to Ferguson, Missouri, to report on unrest in the city.
“We couldn’t be more proud of him,” she said.
Until the convention begins, Villalobos said he will work producing video journals, setting up interviews, and researching for the event.