Journalism or justice? For Ramos-Mata, they'll each get him toward his goals

Editor's note: This story is part of our back-to-school spotlight on notable incoming students. The series will run during the first two weeks of the fall semester. Read our other profiles here.

The meticulous duels of court or the impassioned clarion call of journalism?

Incoming freshman Joey Ramos-Mata isn’t sure which lies ahead of him, but he is sure of one thing: He misses home.

The journalism major who is also a student in Barrett, The Honors College was “definitely” nervous about moving so far from his native Houston to attend ASU.

“I’m one of those weird kids who enjoys spending time with my family, but it’ll be good for me to learn how to function as an adult,” he said. “I think it’ll be good.”

Ramos-Mata fell in love with journalism when he took a class in the subject his freshman year of high school. The following year he joined the student newspaper.

“I’ve been there ever since,” he said. “I love to write in general, whether it's fiction or nonfiction. I find it relaxing; it’s a lot of fun. I got to write editorials for the rest of my year as a senior.”

Ramos-Mata writes short stories in his free time, as well as playing football and soccer with friends and fanatically watching movies.

He has big plans for his time at ASU, with an eye looking toward both working at the State Press and joining student government.

“My sister did that at community college, and it was exciting,” he said.

Asked what he’d like to cover in the news business, he said he doesn’t plan to go into it.

“I’m using it as a foundation for pre-law,” he said. “I’d love to be a part of making big decisions. We learned about the Supreme Court, and I was fascinated with how much power they have.”

Ramos-Mata believes ASU has what it takes to get him to the corridors of power.

“It’s one of the biggest universities and it’s widely renowned for many things,” he said. “I‘ve heard a lot about the journalism program and I’ve heard it’s really good. ... With a good law school and a good journalism school, I thought ASU was the perfect choice for me.”