Classmate Interview

This assignment showed me how it is to work under the pressure of a deadline. Our task was to interview a fellow classmate and compose a decent story based on information collected. In about an hour and a half, I did it. Looking back, I liked doing it. It's something that I'll have to get used to if I truly want to pursue a career in reporting. Here it is.

One talented artist
By Anthony Vasquez, Education Reporter

LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 12, 2007) -- Sarah Al-Mullah is a junior journalism major at Cal-State Long Beach. She’s also an artist. Her artistic hobbies include photography, playing the guitar and piano and creating wax sculptures.

Al-Mullah, who was born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has lived in Southern California for the past 10 years. Going to the beach with her family is one of her fondest memories of Dubai. She laments the privatization of certain beaches which has restricted where ordinary people can go to have a good time.

Since graduating from high school in 2003, she has studied film, studio art, and record production at UC Irvine and two other local community colleges. She transferred to Cal-State Long Beach this last fall.

This upcoming weekend, she will be auctioning off some of her photographic work at a silent auction. In April, she will be playing piano at a fund raiser for a local women’s shelter in Long Beach. This fall, she and a fellow artist are planning to have an art show exhibiting their wax sculptures.
On the piano, she plays contemporary classical music. She can play many genres on the guitar including rock and Spanish guitar. She has recorded two CDs of her musical compositions.

Just in case a scene good enough to photograph comes across her path, she likes to carry a digital camera. As with her music, she does not like to alter her photographic work.

“I don’t really like editing my photos,” she said. “I mean, I might you know, change the lighting just a little bit on the computer, but other than that, I think it defeats the purpose of the whole idea behind taking pictures.”

She is considering joining the Peace Corps after graduation. She would like to go to Africa, in particular Morocco. She has taken French in school. She can also read and write Arabic although has a limited speaking ability.
She has a positive outlook regarding her future. She hopes to one day live in France or Italy creating works of art for the public’s enjoyment. She is focused on improving her writing as well as artistic skills so that one day, her dream of living an artist’s life is realized.

“It’s, I guess, up to me now to make sure I carry it through and do the best that I can and train as much as possible to ensure, you know, the most success that I possibly can,” she said of her current status.

She appeared very pleased that her involvement in many extracurricular activities are allowing her to demonstrate her talent to the world.