My name is Caleb Summers. I am a Freshman undergraduate student at Old Dominion University, class of 2026. While I won’t officially declare my major for a month, I am planning on majoring in English (Journalism specialization) and minoring in Spanish. I’ve always enjoyed writing and reading, and achieved some success in speech, debate, and theater. However, in my junior year of high school, I was able to actualize these passions. I worked alongside my excellent English teacher, Mr. Okamuro, to revive our school’s moribund in-house student publication. This is how my passion for Journalism began; Journalism synthesized my appreciation and talent for writing with my knowledge of politics and global affairs.

My greatest weakness was my lack of knowledge relating to reading or writing Spanish; our high school was about 20% Hispanic, and among that population, 1 in 10 students were in some way enrolled in the ESL programs. In addition, because the area was also Hispanic, many of the auxiliary staff were ESL or preferred speaking in Spanish. When I began gathering interviews for a major story involving students, staff, and support staff, I immediately recognized my shortcomings in being able to communicate with ESL staff and students. I resolved to learn Spanish, so that going forward, I would be able to interview, learn from, and help Spanish speakers.

My personal interests are in history, world affairs, writing, and the outdoors. I spend much of my time when I’m not at ODU working hard on my grandmother’s property in western Virginia. I love animals and spend a lot of my time around cats, dogs, and livestock. I also am learning to shoot shotgun competitively (Trap and Sporting Clays).