(Photo courtesy Asa Carvajal)
The start of 2026 is also the start of a new semester at the University of Central Florida, which means a few new faces around Watermark Out News’ Orlando office thanks to our participation in UCF’s Journalism Intern Pursuit program.
We thought it would be a good idea to introduce our readers to these eager journalism students by having them write a profile on each other. Below we get to know 2026 spring intern Asa Carvajal.
Asa Carvajal was originally a film major when he started his undergraduate studies at the UCF, leaning toward documentary filmmaking.
A glance at digital hiring platform Indeed prompted him to reconsider where his studies were focused.
“I freaked out because like, obviously, you don’t need a film degree to get a film job,” Carvajal says.
He explained that his strengths were in writing and research, two skills that he felt were not applied as much during his studies in the film program at UCF. Carvajal felt pressured when he didn’t enjoy the same avant-garde genre and style of filmmaking as opposed to his peers.
While he was intent on studying and pursuing documentary filmmaking while still a film major, Carvajal feels as though he has learned more about the genre in his journalism studies than he did before.
“I don’t regret my time in the program at all,” Carvajal shares. “I think that it was cool and I got a lot of cool experience with camera work and everything, so now I can just tailor that to journalism instead.”
Despite coming from a film background, Carvajal opted for the print/digital track when he enrolled in UCF’s journalism program.
“I chose print because I like writing a lot and you don’t really get a lot of that in film,” Carvajal says. “I could see myself writing for a paper as a job in the future, and ideally, I would incorporate photography as well, but I don’t know. I just feel like I didn’t fit into the broadcast track in the same way that everyone else in that track fit.”
Carvajal found his way to Watermark Out News through his school’s internship pursuit event during the 2025 fall semester, when he sat down with Watermark’s Central Florida Bureau Chief, Bellanee Plaza, and Owner/Publisher, Rick Todd.
“I wanted an internship, but also I am queer, so I think that [Watermark] just aligns with me, like just the subject matter and everything,” Carvajal says. “I like gay people, I like the arts, I like what they cover. I think that covering legislation affecting queer people is really important, and I like that I can be a part of that coverage.”
While he’s found his way into more writing-based work, Carvajal’s passions still remain in documentary filmmaking. When prompted on hopes and dreams for the next five years down the road, Carvajal sees himself coming back to film and music, as a musician himself.
“I would love to make music documentaries, it would be really awesome,” Carvajal shares. “Ideally, I would be a music writer and do photography on tours like that. It would be really sick to follow bands, you know?”
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