By Diana Montaño

Like the children of many Mexican immigrants, Ricardo Lopez grew up with Spanish as his first language. But his schooling in Las Vegas soon broadened his experience.

Before he knew it, Lopez had fallen in love with English, so much so that by his senior year he was co-editor of his high school paper.

Unlike many of his indecisive classmates, Lopez knew from the start that he wanted to major in journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. Now a sophomore, Lopez, 19, has turned back to his roots, choosing to double major in journalism and Spanish.

Lopez spent a semester studying abroad in Costa Rica. While there, he freelanced for The Tico Times, where he wrote stories on topics including a dog spaying program in rural communities and a profile of a 24-year-old real estate agent who donated money to build a school in his community. The experience allowed him to sharpen his Spanish and has made bilingual reporting, which once seemed unfeasible, “a more realistic goal,” he said.

Ultimately, Lopez sees himself using his skills as a bilingual reporter in the U.S. He points to the fact that many AP wires come in Spanish, and to the usefulness of Spanish when reporting on immigrant communities.

He also sees a role for himself within the expanding Spanish-language press.

“With the growing Hispanic population,” he says, “there are Spanish newspapers that could use good reporters.”