I accidentally pulled an all-nighter for my first project at the Daily Bruin.

I joined the Daily Bruin right during the momentous return of DBTV – Daily Bruin Television – a broadcast-style series initially active in the mid to late 2000s. I was a rookie video intern assigned to cover UCLA’s annual Beat ‘SC Rally – with the bonfire and all – as a reporter, videographer and editor. I was terrified to be there as a new student reporter. Luckily, no one seemed to perceive my nervousness behind my face mask as I co-reported and later co-edited the project.

I wouldn’t have made it through those continuous hours on Adobe Premiere Pro that one night and ultimately my next three years at the Daily Bruin without the endless support of former video producer Crystal Trinh. As an assistant video producer alongside Crystal, I learned how to create systems of support and mentorship for our team, how to act calmly in emergency situations and how to craft the best lineup of Slackmojis you’ve ever seen. Crystal’s boundless appreciation for video and the Daily Bruin as a whole, her professionalism in every interaction, her organization behind the scenes and her kindness to everyone still inspire me when I pursue leadership roles to this day.

I’m so incredibly proud of the dozens of standalone and layered videos and the numerous recurring series our section has planned and executed since UCLA’s return to campus in Fall 2021 including DBTV, Out of Bounds, On the Steps and Westwood Highlights, just to name a few. I also hold dearly the memories of interviewing Frances Haugen and Jeff Orlowski-Yang and of documenting Spring Sing’s return to campus after COVID-19.

My time at the Daily Bruin would not have been complete without the two years I spent as a contributor and eventual staff member of PRIME magazine. As somebody who had once dreamed of double majoring in theater and English in college, I turned to PRIME as an immediate outlet to experiment with long-form creative nonfiction writing. I’ll never forget the satisfaction of working for six months on my first PRIME story “Exeunt the Artists,” an in-depth piece on advocacy, funding and student attrition in the performing and visual arts. PRIME directors Abi Siatkowski and Kate Green provided some of the most fantastic written feedback I’ve ever received from peers. They also maintained a sensational ethos for our section guided by their brilliant humor.

Due to a mixture of capstone requirements and opportunities in theater and journalism outside of the Daily Bruin, I stepped away from my staff positions in video and PRIME for this past school year. Many of these new prospects would not have been possible without the extensive journalism training I received during my time at the Daily Bruin. I don’t think I would have considered becoming a Youth Journalism Fellow or the LA-based theater outlet Stage Raw without the feature writing experience I gained as a cross-trainer in the Arts section. I certainly would not have applied to become an undergraduate seminar facilitator through UCLA’s Undergraduate Student Initiated Education (USIE) program without the influence of three former facilitators and highly respected members of The Bruin: Victoria K. Li, Noah Danesh and Matthew Royer.

To my fellow Daily Bruin seniors graduating this year, thank you for all of our special moments together. Thank you Sanjana Chadive for our many late night chats, cursed debate assignment, multiple trips to California Pizza Kitchen and PRIME story. Thank you Zoë Busenberg for our back-to-back joint interviews with new interns and hurried video editing sessions. Thank you Talia Sajor for our chance encounters backstage in Macgowan Hall after a busy day in the office. And thank you to Martin Sevcik for all your squirrel insight.

And a few final shoutouts: to Verna Chen, Max Davis-Housefield and Madeline Woo for all the outstanding work in Video this year; to my alumni mentor Patrick Healy and his dear friend Paul Signorelli for bringing me on as one of the youngest members of the DBAN mentorship program nearly four years ago; and to my family and friends outside of The Bruin for supporting me in navigating a “double life” as a UCLA student, journalist and actor.

I sit here now writing my -30- column on the same couch of the Saxon Suites lobby where I edited my second or third video for The Bruin. It’s a tranquil setting for the occasion. The lights might not shine as brightly here as they did a few years ago, but nearly everything else feels the same. It’s a beautiful metaphor for my time at the Daily Bruin: some of the memories don’t glow as clearly as they once did, but many of them remain as tangible as if they happened yesterday.

Nonetheless, I will admit that I still pull the ever so slightly disastrous all-nighter from time to time.

Maybe some things truly never change. And maybe that’s for the best after all.

Beymer was Video senior staff 2024-2025, assistant Video producer and PRIME staff 2023-2024 and a Video contributor 2021-2023.