LAUREN CEBALLOS / EDITOR IN CHIEF

From LA to San Diego and everywhere in between, Gina Lew has made her mark and covered stories, while simultaneously writing her own. Lew, USD communication professor and Student Media content advisor, is retiring from her role as the advisor for The USD Vista, USD Radio and USDtv for more than a decade. Despite stepping down from this position, Lew will continue to teach classes.

Lew has interviewed many, ranging from the homeless to presidents. 

Photo courtesy of Gina Lew

A typical assignment in Lew’s class is to have her students interview journalist professionals in order to learn from the experts. Before Lew joined the staff, USD professor Roger Pace, PhD, assigned a similar assignment to his student — one who interviewed Lew. Lew followed up and started working at USD. 

Along with this opportunity came another: advising. Kristin Moran, the communication department chair at the time, wanted a collaborative system for students in all three medias to work together. Despite Lew’s concerns about having not worked in print, she went on to be the advisor after Moran told her, “Journalism is journalism Gina.” 

Over the years with Student Media, Lew has provided a  real  world newsroom for her students to succeed.

“I want them to make the world a better place for themselves and for everybody,” Lew said. “That’s why I always want them to fight the good fight … Whatever their fight is, don’t be complacent. Don’t sit on the sidelines … whatever it is that  drives  you,  whatever  your  passion  is,  whatever you see as something that matters.”

Lew has an intimidating demeanor and an impressive resume, with a loud and firm presence, with the goal of maximizing her students’ full potential. USDtv Station Manager Federica Benini was able to see through the intimidation and was pulled into the environment.

“My initial experience with Gina was in her intro to media writing class and I remember looking on the  Rate My  Professor  and  everyone was saying ‘Oh my gosh, she’s so hard, get ready to experience professor  Lew,’”  Benini  quoted from the website. “And for some  reason,  I  had  such  an  intuitive feeling  that  was  nudging  me toward  this  class  and  I  did  not  care.”

Benini exemplifies an experience that many of Lew’s students go through and she left happily surprised.

“I was just amazed at how knowledgeable Gina was on everything revolving around journalism,” Benini said. “She is a fiery light that is to be reckoned with in  the  best  way possible and anybody is so incredibly lucky to experience Gina Lew and learn everything that she’s done in her lifetime.”

While Benini is thankful and sad to see Lew go, she admits that there is a learning curve to working with Gina that was ultimately beneficial to her in the long run.

“She will push you every single week and she will give you the raw criticism that, at first can feel harsh, but overtime it becomes so evident that she wants you to be better and she really prepares you for the real world,” Benini said. “I’ve learned to take criticism so gracefully, and instead of being you know, offended… it’s like ‘Okay I have made it to this point and these are the areas that I can improve.’”

According to Benini, the tough love makes the affirmations mean so much more. 

“When she gives you kudos you take that and you congratulate yourself, and then you keep working hard because every day, especially the media, is a work in progress,” Benini said. 

Riley Rains, the current arts & culture editor and incoming editor-in-chief shared how she feels about this new change.

“I  think  I’m really proud of her… she’s worked so hard and taking a step down is something that I know couldn’t have been easy,” Rains said. “I’m sad for myself that I am not going to be able to work with her as closely, but I think she prepared everyone  currently  in  the newsroom  really well for their time at The Vista …  I know that she gave me the means to perform well and she’ll  always  be  an ear I can talk to. ” 

Lew shared why she thinks it’s time for a change of pace.

“It’s been a long commitment,” Lew said. “I’ve seen many cycles of folks who came in as freshmen all the way through their senior years… I think if you do this job right, this takes a lot of energy, emotional energy, mental energy, physical energy, because you’re dealing with different populations, every day, every emotion, every crisis … I think sometimes it’s time to step aside and recharge.”

While students are sad to see Lew step down as the student media advisor, something that these Toreros might take comfort in is knowing that she was once in their shoes too.

“When I came down to San Diego,   changing   from   the  academic news gathering to the real world news gathering, I had a complete meltdown thinking ‘What the hell am I doing,’” Lew relived. “And I just had an internal meltdown,  and  then  I  just  said, ‘Hey,  you  think  this  is what  you want  to  do,  then   just   freaking  do  it.”  

While Lew is stepping back from her advising role, she is happy to continue teaching.

“I’m really excited to still be  engaged  because  of  the classroom,” Lew said. “But it’s really,  I’ve  been  doing  two different jobs… One’s to be an educator,  one’s  to  be  an  advisor of…   It’s time  to,  you  know,  reflect.”

One thing that Lew will never be  able  to  shake  is  her  love  of journalism  and  the  news.  Before Lew  could  join  the  journalism world,  the  world  of  journalism found   her.   

“My dad always had news radio on,” Lew said. “We had music too, but we were always listening to the news… So I grew up always as a news eater.”

In Lew’s classes she loves to share her real world stories of trial and error along with her major successes. 

“I’m gonna be trying to fire up the spirit of students to engage, learn, you know, however they choose to do that,” Lew said.

While Lew is known in communities  for her work with NBC, CBS, as the Public and Media Affairs Director of San Diego and more, she explained that her upbringing  is  what  really  defines her.

“Both my parents are immigrants, and I grew up in a Chinese laundry, six kids,” Lew began. “As you can imagine, money was very hard to come by. So my dad basically said, ‘I want all of you to get an education, but I will only be able to pay for the boys. The girls are on your own.”

Lew attended junior college before becoming a USC Trojan, working three jobs to pay for the  education  that  she  desired, later earning a fellowship that helped with the funds. Lew empathizes with Toreros who are living that same story.

“Education was the way up and out,” Lew said. “I was out the door by 6 a.m. and I didn’t get back home until after midnight… I had a lot of energy.”

As a daughter of immigrants and the provider of her own college education,  Lew  had  the  necessity  of a  backup  plan  ingrained  within  her.

“I always had a backup,” Lew said. “That immigrant side in me because yeah, you have some ideas, but you always better have a backup. So the backup was I would become an educator if broadcasting didn’t work out.”

Little did Lew know that the both would come true. As Lew spends her last  month  as  an advisor and reflecting on her work, she shared her opinion on the students that she has had the opportunity to work with.

“I’ll put my students up against students from any university any day,” Lew said. “I’m very proud of our students. And I really am proud of what they do…  You guys  are  all  doing  it  for the love of it, or the torture of it, depending on what day it is.”

As   student   media   folks   say  their thank you’s, students can hold onto the tough love, heart and passion that Gina Lew has  shared  with  them   in   the  newsroom  and  will continue to share in the classroom.

“In today’s world, all you kids, no  matter  what  you’re  majoring  in, you  have  to  adapt,”  Lew  said.  “And if  you  can’t  do  that,  you’re  just  going to be very frustrated. And I think the ability to do that and to see my  kids,  going  from  the  classrooms,  to the campus  newsrooms,  to  real  newsrooms,  that  is  a  fantastic  feeling  because  I  know   that  if    they   can  do  it   with  me,  they  can  do  it  in  the  real  world.”

Lew spends hours working weekly with the students in USD Student Media. Emma Pirhala/The USD Vista

Lew’s favorite interview that she conducted was with Robin Williams.  Photo courtesy of Gina Lew