By AMEARA DITSCHE
Staff Writer
Seriah Sargenton is a Communications major with a concentration in journalism. Hailing from the Bronx she has made her mark across Albany. From academics, to friendships, to internships Sargenton is not lacking in achievements.
Sargenton came to Saint Rose originally planning to pursue a career in political and investigative Journalism, her experiences here however have changed her path. After working in community service through different programs at Saint Rose and an internship at communications firm The Corning Place, Sargenton began to realize her passion for giving back to her community. “I just felt so touched by their stories and how they give back to their communities,” said Sargenton.
Even though Sargenton has strayed off her original journalism path, she is a writer at heart. She pursued a minor in creative writing during her time at the College and has been writing since she was a little girl. She shared anecdotes from her childhood of filling up notebooks with songs, poems, and short stories. She recently was awarded the Sister Patricia Kane award for writing. The Patricia Kane Award is given to a junior or senior based on an article they submit to Communications Department Chair, Cailin Brown. Then, a committee votes on the best article and the writer receives the award.
Sargenton’s article was on Librarians Advocating for better funding for the New York Library Association. Library’s are places she spends a lot of her time and she was very passionate about the cause, spending a good deal of time researching, she submitted the article just days before the deadline. She was shocked she won, mentioning that when comparing herself to her peers she often finds her writing weak.
All of her achievements however, did not come without adversity. College was off to a rough start for freshman Sargenton. Burdened by the financial stress of the high cost of on campus housing, she wasn’t able to devote as much energy to school as she would have hoped. She worked two jobs she despised and was stressed overall and overworked.
She described the summer following her freshman year as transformative. Dealing with family issues and reflective on her academic tribulations, she came out ready to tackle the next few years.
“I have seen her go through similar struggles to my life and she has moved on better than anyone would have,” said her close friend Daniel Sanchez.
She also moved off campus and began working a more enjoyable job which allowed her to feel better and be more successful.
“Seriah is a friendly and talkative person, there is never a dull moment with her” said Edward Pasko, her employer. Pasko also added how knowing Sargenton has impacted him, mentioning her love of Marvel movies and how that has kept him up to date with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
During her time at the college, in addition to her many different off campus activities, she was involved in a variety of clubs and campus programs. The two main ones being The Chronicle and Orientation Leaders. She began writing for The Chronicle her sophomore year as it was mandatory for her Journalism I class, she enjoyed it so much she continued to do so throughout her college career, making her way to the assistant editor position her senior year.
During her time at The Chronicle, she worked with current opinions Editor Kayla Demicco. Demicco mentioned that Seriah was the one tabling for the paper when she first signed up.
“She talked to me about The Chronicle,” said Demicco. “She told me when the first meeting was and I went to every single meeting after that. if it weren’t for her tabling for The Chronicle that day, I don’t know if I would be doing what I love the most today.”
Sargenton was also a summer orientation leader, assisting incoming freshman into their transition to college, here she met Darcy Kemp, the Assistant Vice President for Student Success & Engagement. She has kept that job every summer since she began.
During her junior year, Sargenton began to discover that, her real passion lie in PR. During her Journalism two class, she began to dislike some of the stories she was writing and ultimately decided that maybe she was not cut out for investigative journalism.
Outside of school however her new job at Piercing Pagoda in Crossgates Mall began a fundraiser for Saint Jude’s hospital, this helped her start to realize she loved the sales and PR aspect of communications, as well as doing work for non profits.
After graduation, Sargenton plans to pursue a career in PR for a non-profit or to participate in non-profit journalism for an organization like NPR or PBS.
