I was born in a place where people cry in silence because a loud cry would get them killed. My country, the land of the Maya, is one of blood, corruption and suffering. In 1993, my family flew to Chile, my dad’s country, and I found that Chile is not very different from Guatemala. Peace is a rare commodity in both countries.

Four years later, we came to the United States, the land of the free. But even here, some people cry in silence. Those who suffer need answers and solutions, and I think journalism can provide those. It confronts authorities, and when done well, brings about change.

In 2007, I graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. During my last two years at UF, I worked at The Independent Florida Alligator, where I covered presidential speeches and gubernatorial debates and wrote about UF’s low pay of graduate students and their struggle to earn a degree while being underpaid.

After graduation, I interned at The Palm Beach Post and was later hired as a multimedia reporter and a Web producer by La Palma, the Post’s weekly Spanish-language newspaper.

In October of 2009, I moved to Chicago for a two-year MetPro residency at the Chicago Tribune. Nearly two years later, the residency turned into a full-time position covering commercial real estate and the Chicago markets, among other things.