The Daily Star welcomes a new reporter
Jul. 15—The Daily Star welcomed a new reporter to its newsroom on Monday, July 11.
Alexis Ochi, a recent graduate of SUNY Oneonta, majored in photography with a focus on photojournalism, and credits her professor Wesley Bernard with encouraging her to continue in photojournalism.
Ochi said she completed a project about how the COVID-19 pandemic affected college culture. She said college is important as it "shapes us in how we are today. People think it's all about the parties and binge drinking, but it's not. In reality, it's the trials and some failures that we go through during college that shapes us into who we are."
She said she has become closer to the friends she had made in college than she was to the ones she made in high school.
Ochi grew up in Hampton Bays in Suffolk County before moving to Hicksville in Nassau County. She said while SUNY Oneonta wasn't her first pick for college, she "liked Oneonta so much I decided to stay here."
She said she likes to listen to people's stories "with an unbiased perspective" and report on those stories.
"I'm grateful I have this opportunity fresh out of college," she said. "It will make me a better writer and a better journalist. It will let me hone my craft. It's a good stepping stone. It will give me knowledge of the industry."
Ochi hopes to work at newspapers in New York City in the future. In addition, she has an Instagram page titled Ochi Photos.
"Alexis brings curiosity and a new perspective to the newsroom," Editor Robert Cairns said. "I am looking forward to seeing her work."
Vicky Klukkert, staff writer, can be reached at vklukkert@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7221.
