Pam Ortega named RIAS Alumna of the Year 2023

Pam

Ortega

, an immigration researcher in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was honored by the RIAS Berlin Commission as

Alumna of the Year 2023

for her indefatigable efforts to bring American

and German journalists and students together.

Ortega

participated in the original RIAS student program for Americans in 2018 and took part in a RIAS standard program in 2022.She has helped RIAS organize its programs for German journalists and students in the United States and worked hard to help American journalists and students get ready for the fellowships to Germany.

Ortega

, who plans to study law, has also spearheaded RIAS’s efforts to become better known in the United States by staffing the RIAS stand at the annual RTDNA conferences and helping to improve its social media channels, especially LinkedIn. The RIAS Alumna of the Year is an annual honor awarded to the volunteers who support the RIAS Berlin Commission program and alumni networks. Previous winners were Michael Gargiulo (WNBC TV, New York) and Martin Richter (Phoenix TV, Bonn). Both Gargiulo and Richter joined RIAS executive director Erik Kirschbaum in

unanimously selecting Ortega from a field of six finalists from Germany and the United States for Alumni of the Year honors

Pam, how does it feel to be selected 2023 Alumna of the Year?It is such a honor and quite unexpected! Erik Kirschbaum called me while I was at RTDNA representing RIAS to share the good news. Never did I think I would share such an award with RIAS alumni greats like Michael Gargiulo and Martin Richter.Why are you so interested in voluntarily being involved so extensively in the RIAS Alumni Network?RIAS is such a unique organization, one that I will always be grateful for. In 2018, RIAS took a chance on a a girl from Oklahoma, daughter of Mexican immigrants, first-generation college student from a low social economic background and it’s made a difference in my life. I came acrossthe RIAS application through a FB group for journalists. My initial thought was “Germany, they speak German there. The Mennonites from Northern Mexico where my family is from also speak German. And journalism. I love journalism. I should apply.” I quickly learned meeting Mennonites in Germany was not on the itinerary, but nevertheless were so many great opportunities like meeting a Syrian refugee, learning about the Berlin Wall, the Stasi and the East Side Gallery. In 2018 RIAS expanded my worldview and introduced me to great opportunities,therefore in 2023 I feel compelled to give back and open doors for others like me.Doesn’t all this take an awful lot of time?Not at all! It does not even feel like a lot of time.  I sometimes sit at my computer, working away, organizing things and then realize it’s 1 AM. Once I get into it I just do not want to stop. It’s great to see the final product after weeks and months of preparing. I witnessed this most recently with the Alumni Trip to Cologne and Munich. Every morning, due to the 7 hour difference, I would wake up to so many texts from the alumni group. These included photos and videos of the great time and educational experience they were having. I spoke to a few after the program who expressed their gratitude and were so grateful for the experience. So no, it does not even feel like a lot of time because the end product is so rewarding to see.What was the difference between your first student trip in 2018 and the 2022 standard program?In 2018, I traveled to Germany and Europe for the first time. Our three week program focused on the Cold War in addition to politics and journalism. In 2022, the two week standards program focused exclusively on politics and journalism. While both programs were educational, I played different roles in each. In 2018, I was like a new kid with a toy, I was a sponge taking it all in, too timid to ask questions. In 2022, I felt more confident within my group and around guest speakers. I credit RIAS for this maturity. The 2018 program opened my eyes, taught me to ask questions, learn, read, four years later I executed those lessons.How can the RIAS Alumni network be strengthened?I believe developing an alumni advisory council will help strengthen the Alumni network. The alumni advisory council would directly inform staff and the RIAS board about plans to help strengthen the alumni network. We have so many alumni chapters across the U.S. and Germany, having a governing council will help ensure the best interests of the network are considered. Additionally, I think hiring someone to work as an alumni coordinator will ensure everyone is aware and involved. Primarily, we need to organize our alumni directory, ensure we have activecommunication with our over 1900 alumni across both the U.S. and Germany and develop organized meetings/reunions.Does the Alumni Network have any advantages for you personally?I am forever grateful for the friends I’ve made along the way through RIAS. My 2022 group and I remain close. Anytime one of us in a city where another lives we ensure we meet up to catch up! This past week at RTDNA I reunited with Sheryl Worsley and Kevin King. And in two weeks Iwill reunite with Omar Atia in NYC. I still need to find my way to Atlanta, DC and LA to catch up with Katherine Bennett, Esther  Ciammachilli, Brandon Benavides, Matt Gregory, Scott Neuman and Andrea Gutierrez. RIAS really is a family. I know I can pick up the phone and call any of them for advice anytime  — which I have done already.Why do you do so much for RIAS?I will be eternally grateful to RIAS for the opportunities it provided me. In 2018 when I participated in the first RIAS Student Program, I traveled to Europe for the first time. As a first-generation college student from a low-income background, never in my dreams did I consider studying abroad in Europe or traveling there, it just was not financially possible. RIAS provided that opportunity for me. It was my first time in a country where I did not speak the language and was not familiar with the culture. Within the first few days I remember thinking “what am I doing here? I should go home.” Luckily, I stayed and it forever changed my trajectory. At the time I had just finished myundergraduate studies in journalism and political science and was preparing to start graduate school at the University of California, San Diego in Latin American Studies. I wanted to study Latin American journalism, but quickly changed my focus to immigration, primarily asylum law, all thanks to the exposure RIAS provided me to immigration in Germany. The student program focused on the Cold War. I remember visiting museums where I learned those living on the East used methods such as fake passports, tunnels and smugglers to get to the West. These are all methods that continue to be used today. Furthermore, hearing firsthand from a Syrian refugee about their experience navigating immigration policies, further pushed me to continue learning about immigration.What do you like most about RIAS? What do you like least?I love the alumni network and the RIAS spirit that is reignited every time alumni gather. Most recently at the RTDNA conference in Minneapolis I organized a RIAS alumni dinner for alumni at the RTDNA conference and Minneapolis based alumni. It was amazing to see complete strangers bond over a shared experience for two hours. My favorite part was when we were trying to figure out which news organization in Cologne has that moving elevator. After some thinking, and a search through old photographs we realized it was WDR. I wish there more opportunities foralumni to gather.