Inland Valley News Welcomes Jonathan Ng Newest 2012 Summer Intern

By IVN Interns Rebecca Udokop and Anthony Macklin
Upland, CA—Jonathan Ng is a third year undergraduate student at California State University San Bernardino (CSUSB) and is majoring in communications with a dual concentration in mass communications and public relations.

As a young college student, Ng is eager to find his niche and build his skills towards successfully transitioning into the professional world.

When Ng was asked about what qualities he possesses, he stated, “Through my experience in college, I have found that I have really good communication skills. I want to build on that strength and help people the best way I can.”

Coming a long way since high school at Rancho Cucamonga High School (RCHS), Ng has transformed from being the reserved kid in the back of the class to the outspoken kid itching to get in front.

Constantly seeking opportunities to better himself, he has joined a number of different clubs and organizations on campus to help him build a foundation in leadership skills, diversity awareness, and public service.

During his freshmen year, Ng was a shy student that enrolled in CSUSB as a Pre-Nursing major.
Ng had three goals his freshmen year: to succeed academically, to find his passion, and to break out of his reserved shell and create a new image for himself.

Pushed by one of his newly found friend’s, Aaron Lash Jr., one of the organizations that Ng decided to join to help him break out of his shell was the Student Orientation Advising and Registration (S.O.A.R) program.

This is a volunteer based program at CSUSB set in the summer for new incoming freshmen to be guided into their transition from high school to college through a series of fun-filled orientation programs, advising sessions, and registration.

As a member of this program, Ng was considered a S.O.A.R leader, where he was in charge of a group of 30-40 incoming freshmen a day to help mentor their transition and answer any questions that they might have.

This program was a 2-day program that happened twice a week for 3 consecutive weeks.
It took a lot of initiation, courage, and stepping out of his comfort zone to do, but through the very long and exhausting process, Ng got through it.

Ng stated his experience from the program, “After those long nights of staying up until 12:00am and waking up at 5:00 am one day, just to go to sleep at 1:00am and get up at 7:00 am the next day, it all seemed hopeless to get up and do it all over again, but when I got those thank you text from my students the next day saying that they had a great time at S.O.A.R and that I was the best S.O.A.R leader ever, it made it all worth it.”

As a result, Ng truly learned what it meant to work hard for his community and reap the benefits that come with it, realizing that making a difference isn’t always the money made, but the lives touched.

Through completing this program, a push from some friends, and with the help of mentor Mark Hartley, Director of Student Leadership and Development, Ng broke out of his shell and realized that he was far more capable of what he thought.

Ng thought of other things he could do with his new found knowledge and how he could apply it.
Ng then began taking up some communication classes and really enjoyed what the major had to offer.

After taking up another opportunity of challenging his social skills again by becoming a “Night with the pack” mentor, in which a college student takes a high school student under their wing for a day to show them what college life is like, Ng felt he really made an impact on his student and started to realize that his gift was in communication.

During the next year, Ng changed his major to communications and joined the CSUSB newspaper “The Coyote Chronicle”.

Through hard work and determination, Ng gained a substantial amount of experience in the field of journalism and the necessary skills to carry him to above the fold on the front page, 4 out of the 8 articles he wrote. As a result, Ng loved the class and learned that he had a gift for writing.

Later that year, he became a Residential Assistant (RA), a job designed to supervise, create and implement programs, and be a student mentor for 50 residents for over a 9 month period of time.
Underpaid and overly busy, everyday would be something different for Ng, but Ng enjoyed his job because he knew that he was being a leader and making a difference in people’s lives.

In addition to being an RA, part of Ng’s job was to break down social barriers in the dorm and help create a safe space for all genders, colors, and sex to have freedom of expression. To help make more of a direct approach to this, Ng created “Real Talk” a self help awareness group that would come together once every week to talk about social issues that are not usually addressed, such as social discrimination, gender roles in modern society, love and relationships, etc.

Through this method, Ng reached a lot of his residents on a personal level and forged a deeper, richer relationship with his residents.

With experience in housing, Ng wanted to expand his horizons for his 3rd year by running for the Residential Housing Association (RHA) President, a position that heads a program coordinator team that programs for the several thousand students in housing.

After long hours of campaigning, Ng got the position and starts programming in the fall.
Through all of this Ng is proud to be where he is at and continues to look for opportunities to help him towards his career in mass media and public relations.

Ng wants to work around the camera and gain experience at television networks such as NBC, ABC, ESPN, E!, CBS, CNN or other television stations. He is also interested in Public Relations, business, and marketing, looking to get his foot in the door.