Class of 2019 Success Stories: BGSU journalism student believes it’s her duty to help people

Angelica Euseary thankful for multiple opportunities she had at Bowling Green

By Amber Stark ’99

Credible. Ethical. Accurate.

Those are the words Bowling Green State University journalism student Angelica Euseary uses to define her idea of what the industry should look like. Unfortunately, the field doesn’t always match that definition.

“We’re not seeing enough about the things that matter,” she said. “I feel like it’s my duty to help people. We owe it to people. They trust us with this platform.”

After Euseary graduates in May, she’ll use her passion to pursue a master’s degree in African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin.

“I love learning; I’m excited to learn more at a higher level,” she said, adding, “But I’ll always be a journalist.”

Euseary came to Bowling Green State University in August of 2015 from Detroit, immediately finding a community as a member of the Sidney A. Ribeau President’s Leadership Academy, a four-year leadership development program that engages scholars in classes, workshops, experiential learning and community service activities. 

“When I came here, it was like community. I thrive off that,” she said. “I was embraced by people I didn’t even know. It helped me find my purpose.”

Part of her purpose is telling people’s stories.

“Everyone has a story,” she said, adding that she enjoys learning about other cultures. “You never know what you can learn from someone.”

In addition to writing for the BG News, Euseary served as co-editor of The Obsidian for two years and was a member of the NAACP, a SMART mentee and mentor, and treasurer and president of the Black Student Union. She said the latter experience helped her lean into her minor, ethnic studies.

Her participation in these activities aligns with her advice for future students: “Don’t be afraid to try something different. To step out of your comfort zone. Be around people who want to help other people thrive.”

The Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program is yet another University opportunity that helped chart her path, leading her to the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship. In April, she was an award winner in the Undergraduate Symposium on Diversity, with the research topic of “Media Representation of Emmitt Till in the 20th Century.” Dr. Thomas Edge mentored her.

“Through this research opportunity, I learned that what I do matters,” Euseary said.

Through the resources at BSGU, including the Counseling Center, the C. Raymond Marvin Center for Student Leadership and the Kuhlin Center, Euseary said she learned a lot in and out of the classroom.

“BGSU is so resourceful,” she said. “There are so many programs here meant to help me. I learned how to be a journalist and a researcher. How to empathize, be good to people, be a good person, spread goodness. You never know what people are going through.

“Whether I’m a political/cultural journalist or an ethnic studies professor, I’ll be somewhere where I’m helping people.”