Photographer. Writer. Storyteller.

My name is Chaveli Guzman. I'm a Junior studying News-Editorial Journalism, a photographer, the Multimedia Editor at the Oracle and someone who is passionate about storytelling.

My passion for capturing stories originated from my love for people and the countless lessons that each person holds. As a photographer, I learned the dynamism of a photo wasn’t in how good or bad someone looked, but rather in how effectively a person’s soul was captured in a single shot. As a writer, I learned that the depth of a story was not in word count or in how ostentatious the language was, but rather in the simplicity of someone’s voice and story being actualized and heard through text. Moments of love, ambition, passion or struggle were the stories I favored sharing because of how much they embodied what it is to be undeniably human and how connected we truly are in a society that tries to tell us otherwise.

My unwavering love for storytelling extends to the art form of fusing photography and written word to capture a story. The power that lies in the union of photography and writing resides in its ability to utilize text to illustrate experiences and emotions, while validating that truth through the visual appeal of photography to gain a deeper insight to a story. Through this unique blend for capturing compelling narratives, people can indulge in the influence of human connection, sparking empathy that can inspire new ideas, action and change.

While the art of storytelling takes many forms, such as through text, film, photography or speech, I believe that the role of a storyteller remains the same: to engender the voice of those who feel unacknowledged, to teach and inspire others to reach higher, to bring clarity to some of the most troubling or fleeting situations and to bridge a world divided through the truth.