My name is Holden Velasco.
Holden Velasco is an award-winning student journalist set to graduate from CUNY Queens College.
Velasco has had his work published in The New York Times, SLAM Magazine, the Long Island Herald and SB Nation’s NetsDaily. Velasco served as the Editor-in-Chief, Sports Editor and Webmaster of Queens College’s student-run newspaper, The Knight News.
As one of twenty selected students, Velasco was an inaugural member of the prestigious New York Times Corps, where he received one-on-one career-guidance from a mentor within The New York Times.
In his free time, Velasco enjoys playing his electric guitar and watching various TV shows and movies.
So, what’s my story?
Since I was a kid, I’ve always had a profound love for sports, and slowly, that love became obsession. I did anything I could to satisfy that sports itch: I watched the professionals, I played four sports, coached youth basketball, and scoured the internet for any pieces of sports media.
Then, one day, I said to myself, “Hey why can’t I be one of these storytellers?”
From there, a love blossomed into a full-blown marriage between myself, sports, and multimedia journalism. I’ve had stops at many publications since then, and one thing remains clear. It’s always about the people.
Whether it’s the sources I speak to, students on my campus or a city worker reading my articles on their commute to work, I take pride in bringing the best I can to anyone and everyone.
Using my platform as a member of the media to uplift individuals within any community — in a sports or non-sports related capacity — has been my ever-lasting honeymoon period.
What’s with this "New York Times Corps?"
In August of 2022 I had the honor of being selected as one of twenty students to join the inaugural class of The New York Times Corps. My appreciation for this can not be understated. However, you may be asking, what even is The New York Times Corps? For that, I took the following information from their program page:
The Times Corps is a talent-pipeline program for college students in the United States to receive career guidance from New York Times journalists over a multiyear period.
It is designed for students from underrepresented groups, such as students of color and/or students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds. We are especially interested in applications from students who attend community colleges, historically black colleges and universities, and state colleges and universities. The next cohort will be open to the Classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027.
The program replaced The New York Times Student Journalism Institute, a two-week annual boot camp that in 2021 finished a nearly 20-year run.
Each participant talks with an assigned Times journalist at least three times a year, up to the duration of students’ undergraduate careers. Those conversations focus primarily on career-building advice. Occasional speakers, training and activities punctuate the experience.
What about your resume?
Attached below is the most recent version of my resume.
