Matt Salcido, the outgoing sports editor at the Daily Lobo, will soon graduate with a Bachelor of Science in computer science from the University of New Mexico.
Having fallen into the position of sports editor with no journalistic experience following a back injury, Salcido learned quickly to translate his extensive knowledge of college sports into journalistic writing.
“For a few years prior to beginning as sports editor I was a basketball coach … I ended up hurting my back and I knew I was going to have to take a year off,” Salcido said. “The Lobo was hiring for editors and I saw sports editor, so I applied. I didn’t think that I was going to get considered at all since I had zero experience.”
Though Salcido had no journalistic experience, his hands-on knowledge about sports, specifically basketball, landed him the position. In the year since he was hired he has excelled, greatly expanding the Lobo’s sports desk coverage.
“It’s been great, it’s been absolutely phenomenal. I’ve gotten to stay around sports and get into writing,” Salcido said. “It was really important.”
Thomas Bulger, a beat reporter at the Daily Lobo, has worked closely with Salcido since beginning earlier this year.
“Matt has always been super cool to me. I’ve only known him for about three months but he’s always been super helpful,” Bulger wrote to the Daily Lobo. “He knows what he’s talking about; he’s very knowledgeable in the sports world.”
Beyond Salcido’s provisions of technical sports knowledge, Bulger appreciates Salcido’s genuine care for the reporters.
“He seems like he wants me to grow as a writer,” Bulger wrote.
Since beginning his work in sports journalism, Salcido’s interests have broadened. To delay his decision between computer science and journalism, he has enrolled in graduate school where he plans to continue studying computer science at UNM while possibly staying on at the Lobo to freelance.
Even without the Lobo, though, Salcido has found a way to involve writing in his new day-to-day. Now working in technology transfer for UNM as a project specialist, he writes extensively on the subjects he studies.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“(It’s) kind of between engineering and journalism; doing a lot of writing and marketing for the inventions the UNM professors come up with,” Salcido said.
Though Salcido’s time with the Lobo may be coming to an end, the impact that the publication has had on him is immense, and he urges the greater student body to give it a shot and apply.
“The Lobo is really important,” Salcido said. “It’s a place where you feel every single part of the University in one spot … I think that a lot more people should apply to work there. It’s the best.”
Natalie Jude is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached on Twitter @nataloroni or at culture@dailylobo.com
