Humans of Chaffey: Nate Gosney
By Xavier Chavez
Here I sit with Nate Gosney, the Journalism Program Assistant at the Rancho Cucamonga Chaffey campus. He is a major help at The Breeze, and the main reason why I joined in the first place.
Gosney’s official position has him assist with budgeting, planning and providing excellent mentoring for students. He has now been in his current role for over a year.
He attended Chaffey College as a student just a few years ago. He is currently attending Cal State San Bernardino to obtain a degree in communications with a media studies focus. What was at first just a plan to “go to the college with the same name as the high school I went to," quickly transformed into the journalism path he has set for himself, and a passion that resonates within the classroom.
Gosney reflects fondly on his time with The Breeze as a student. He became a copy editor and built connections with former program assistants. He credits these experiences for laying the foundation of where he is today.
When the program assistant position became available at the same time that he graduated from Chaffey, he pounced on the opportunity. He described it as “the perfect storm” to continue his love for journalism and to continue his education.
When it comes to fostering this passion, he attributes it to a phrase from his father, “Why not me?”. He used that phrase to join The Breeze, apply for the position and in pursuing further endeavors outside of school and work.
“It's an opportunity that I am eternally grateful for."
As a twenty-one year old, some may find that working with students your age to be difficult, as eldership would not be valid. However, Gosney has a different outlook:
“I am the same age bracket of nearly every student I interact with. This closeness in age has allowed me to be 100% of my personality, and even foster what I would consider friendships with students, especially those with whom I was also a student alongside," Gosney stated. "Beyond age making it more relatable, it is also a lot of fun to see these students grow and eventually transfer in such a pivotal moment in their lives. Knowing that if I even made a 1% positive change in their lives, creates quite a lot of fulfillment.”
“Beyond the person-to-person side of things, I definitely consider myself someone who does their absolute best to make this program as successful as possible," Gosney said. "Whether it is outreach, getting students as many resources and opportunities as possible or ensuring Ian, our professor, gets everything he wants as smoothly as I can, it creates a program that I can be proud of.”
When asked about the artificial intelligence (AI) boom and how to navigate around students possibly using it, Nate used to see it as a tool to help with assignments rather than completely fake it. However, with the negative ramifications it has on the environment being brought to light, he has shifted away from it entirely.
“As someone with a journalism background, having AI generate content that you specifically use is where I believe it to be a major problem.”
With the AI boom presenting a risk in the journalism industry, Nate still keeps a strong head forward. He wants to be a full-time beat writer for a publication -- writing specifically about the Los Angeles Chargers. While that may seem like a lofty goal, he looks back and presents the same quote that got him this far in the first place; “Why not me?”
Writing about the local professional team is an extremely high-demand job, but I could not name a more worthy person. He has been a fan since birth, in large part because of his dad.
“My dad lived in San Diego during the Chargers' 1994 Super Bowl run, which prompted him to lie about his loyalties to the Chargers, which he then passed on to me," Gosney stated. "If I had known that this team is what it is, I probably would have thought twice before picking this team."
Despite living through the highs and many lows of watching the Chargers on TV or in real life, he still supports them and follows every single move they make. This never changes -- no matter if it is supporting the backup to the backup, or when the release of a player comes with financial implications.
“Even with that said, though, I absolutely adore this football team, and it has given me so many emotions through the years, good and bad," Gosney said. "I think a lot of life lessons could be learned from the reflection of sports and the athletes who play them. I really owe a lot to this franchise, even if they have not won a playoff game since 2018!”