Isabella Arnold
Bella Arnold is a former Oxford comma enthusiast and audio journalism student at UC Berkeley’s graduate school of journalism. In May 2022, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from California State University, Long Beach with her B.A. in journalism with a minor in English: creative writing.
Currently, Bella is a student reporter for the Investigative Reporting Program working on the California Reporting Project, where she investigates police use-of-force and misconduct in California.
During her time at CSULB, Bella was the editor-in-chief of DIG Magazine, which won first place for best print magazine at the CCMA awards during her tenure. Additionally, she was a staff writer and desk editor at DIG MAG and The Daily Forty-Niner. She’s also worked in radio for 22 West Media.
From 2021-2022, she was a member of EdSource’s student journalism corps. As a reporter of higher education, she was mentored by Daniel Vasquez and reported on stories about cannabis research, food insecurity and much more. She was also the first member of the corps to share a byline with a full-time EdSource reporter and fellow UC Berkeley J-School alumni, Betty Márquez Rosales. She also wrote an editorial about her experience as a 14-year-old cancer survivor.
As a lifelong lover of storytelling, the Latina journalist feels very privileged to be able to cover underrepresented communities, the education system, the literary industry and much more. During her time at UC Berkeley, she looks forward to continuing to write stories about marginalized people experiencing joy and people who, like her, love books. In her free time, she likes to write plays and watch rom-coms, and read anything written by Emily Henry.
EDUCATION
University of California, Berkeley: M.J. in journalism (Spring 2024)
California State University, Long Beach: B.A. in journalism (Spring 2022)
EMPLOYERS
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Data reporter at the California Reporting Project (Investigative Reporting Program)
AWARDS & HONORS
Kappa Tau Alpha: Top scholar award
CSU, Long Beach: Magna Cum Laude
CSULB department of journalism and public relations: exceptional achievement in journalism and public relations
MEMBERSHIPS & AFFILIATIONS
Women in Media: Co-Chair (UC Berkeley)
National Association of Hispanic Journalists: Member (UC Berkeley and CSULB)
Society of Professional Journalists: Founding president (CSULB)
REPORTING INTERESTS
Arts and Culture, Audio Journalism, Data Journalism, Equity, Human Rights Issues, Investigative reporting, Latinx Communities, Literature, Social Justice, Social Media, higher education, k-12 education