Gabriel Sánchez (’16) attends White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

Gabriel Sánchez pictured with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, D.C.

Sánchez was invited to the annual gala after winning a scholarship from the White House Correspondents’ Association through the J-School. As has become tradition, President Obama attended the dinner, and he took some lighthearted digs at the Washington press corps and at his Republican rivals. Sanchez said the highlight of his night was meeting the President and First Lady, and telling a joke of his own that made her laugh.

Prior to attending the Correspondents’ Dinner, Sánchez never aspired to report on national politics, because he was more interested in covering California. But a weekend inside the Beltway left him with a better understanding of what working in the nation’s capital really entails, and it may have him rethinking his ambitions.

“Just by attending the luncheon, I was able to speak to members of the press who work to maintain the transparency of the White House and our nation’s chief executive,” Sánchez said. “I was able to learn why we need such an organization and the symbology behind the dinner.”

Sanchez is a first year graduate student at UC Berkeley’s School of Journalism. He received his BA in Political Science following President Obama’s commencement address at UC Irvine in 2014. Gabriel is the editor of The Berkeley Political Review, a news editor of the San Quentin News and a freelance writer for the Oakland North, Richmond Confidential.

Gabriel also works as a writing coach with under-privileged high school students and edits the work of San Quentin State Prison inmates who produce an in-house newspaper. “I work with two girls who are first generation students at a high school in East Oakland and it’s the most rewarding thing when they ask if I’ll be there the next week to help them with their writing assignments. I get the same exact sentiments from the guys at San Quentin News.”