There are stories to be told within the gaps between the bylines.
The Daily Bruin Photo section was one of the first places I let myself stick with something others thought I was bad at simply because I loved it.
It didn’t rely on someone recognizing the potential in me. In fact, at the start, it was quite the opposite. I didn’t excel at it on the first try, or the second or the 10th. The lack of support I had in my early days meant I had to find it within myself. Before anyone else took me seriously, I had to do it first.
That became the backbone of my time at The Bruin.
Some of my most formative moments took place between the roles that will be listed to remember me by when I no longer write for The Bruin. I will take the skills I learned in those positions, and I will cherish them immensely, for they have made me a better journalist and a better person. At the same time, I will also hold on to the moments that seemed like misfortunes – it was in the midst of those that I developed a strong sense of who I was and who I wanted to be.
As soon as I found out crosstraining existed at The Bruin, I knew I wanted to learn photojournalism. Since I was someone who had never officially used a professional camera before, that decision was not always well received. Now, as one of our most active staff photojournalists, that past has an undeniable influence on who I am.
It was my time outside of those formal roles that taught me what to do when given access to the platform they come with. While the challenges I faced in my early days were pivotal for my growth, I have never shied away from being the reason other Daily Bruin contributors will have a different story to show for their time here.
If we’re in a crowded room, I want you to know someone here cares if you have a good time. I want you to understand your work deserves to be engaged with. I want you to know I’m excited for your photos to be published on the site, and I want you to feel the impact your work has when I tell you how moved I am.
If you make a joke, I want to be the first person to open the door for someone else to join us in our laughter. If you trust me enough to tell me you feel frustrated, I want you to know it’s only natural to care.
What I hope I have shown you in doing so is that you can occupy that same space yourself. Just as much as I greeted you with open arms at any chance I could, I want you to do the same for yourself and others. Journalist or not, we all have the power of the byline.
I do not have to question whether my time here will have a legacy. I’m incredibly fortunate to have people around me who look to me with respect and trust in my judgment enough to ask for my input, even when they’re not required to do so.
If I could give any parting advice, both to them and the anonymous reader online, I’d say I have loved being in your corner, but now is an opportunity for you to see if you’ve learned what I sought to teach you.
When you are stripped of all titles, what significance will you give your name?
The byline symbolizes that you have produced a work that to your knowledge is true, and you are willing to stake your reputation on it. You are signing off on its integrity.
While at The Bruin, everything I’ve written and every moment I’ve captured has been stamped with my name. But there is also so much more I’ve contributed beyond that.
My time at The Bruin was sunflower fields and multicolored bubbles on a screen. Rainy skies and courtyard confessionals. Cushions in hallways and resting our heads against the wall. It was the persistent truth of knowing nothing will ever be perfect, but there will always be generations of people hoping to get as close to it as we can.
I hope a little bit of that reckless optimism was contagious.
At The Bruin, we often use italics to signify opinionated coverage. It is also by tradition that we include a list of formal roles each graduating columnist has held. To some, it will be interpreted as a score of my greatest achievements here.
I, on the other hand, find it quite fitting this list is italicized.
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Cobo Cordon was the 2025-26 PRIME director, the 2023-24 music | fine arts editor and a 2025-26 Photo staffer. She was also a 2022-23 Arts contributor and reporter, a 2023-25 Photo contributor, and a 2024-26 Arts senior staffer.
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