Visit SF State - Word on the Street - Charlotte Mårtén
Name...
Charlotte Mårtén
Title...
Undergraduate, Journalism
Hometown...
Sundswall, Sweden
Why SF State..?
I heard that it has a really good journalism program. I was admitted to several different schools but I visited San Francisco last spring and I really like the city; there's a lot of diversity here. I visited the campus and it seemed like the right choice.
Favorite SF State faculty member and why...
Don Menn, he's my History of Journalism professor. He's got a lot of experience in the area and he encourages students to participate in class. I didn't think that history could be interesting, but he really made it interesting.
Favorite on-campus hangout...
Must be the library. There's a study room on the third or fourth floor, and most people don't know about it, so I usually sit there a lot because it's very quiet and private.
Who inspires you..?
People who give their time and their energy for other people. We live in such a hectic society that people don't have time for other people, not even for their friends. I just really admire people who take time from their own lives to give to other people.
What person, dead or living, would you most like to meet..?
William Shakespeare. He came up with a lot of new language and expressions and no one really wrote about him at the time, but after his death, people started realizing what he did and I think he did some really amazing work.
Current projects...
I'm fundraising for this nursery school that I'm trying to open for orphans in Kenya. I've been holding a couple of fundraising events and made presentations in Sweden and San Diego.
In five years you'll be...
I don't think I'll be in the U.S., probably somewhere in a Third World country, maybe in Africa, Asia or South America. Working as a journalist, but also helping other people because this experience that I had in Kenya really inspired me to do other things. I've always wanted to be a journalist because I love to write, but now I realize that you can actually help other people by informing others in the modern world about what's going on out there.
Advice to new students...
Talk to your professors, be friends with your professor, your classmates. Try to interact in the classroom, all the professors like that -- and it makes it fun and interesting. You're paying to go to school; you should take advantage of that and try to learn something.
Hobbies...
I love skydiving. I also work out a lot, as an aerobics instructor and salsa dancing. I love doing that with my friends -- and good wine, good food.
Favorite quote...
"Trust the process." Whatever happens happens for a reason, and you just have to trust the process of life and you'll always feel good.
