Credit: Courtesy

Our latest hire as a news reporter, Jun Starkey, hails from Bakersfield but moved to Santa Barbara when she was 10 so that her father could study marine technology at SBCC. She’s primarily in charge of our education coverage these days, and tells us more about herself below, including how she lived on a boat with her family for a few years. 

What draws you to being a journalist? 
I have always wanted to write, and journalism was a way for me to work on creating a cohesive narrative that was simple for people to follow, just in a nonfiction form. Now I think of journalism as more of a public service, disseminating important information in a digestible way to people who would otherwise not know what’s happening in their city. Also, when I was younger, every cool female character on TV was a journalist. 

What have you enjoyed writing about so far? 
I have covered mostly education issues, focusing on the school board and how they’ve navigated through these last few months of the pandemic. That has been very rewarding to me, because I think fighting the constant COVID misinformation can only be done by providing accurate info and providing a clear understanding of what a governing body can do to prevent the spread of a virus. 

How was the boat life? 
It was a cheaper way to stay in Santa Barbara and still have some income left over for, like, anything else. But because of that I know how to sail, not incredibly well, but still a life-saving skill.

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