Stephanie Rivera grew up shy and sheltered in the working-class immigrant suburb of South Gate. As one of six siblings in a tight-knit-but-chaotic family, Stephanie was taught to show compassion for others, to strive for public service and to fight for justice. But it wasn’t until she changed her major from history to journalism while studying at Cal State Long Beach that she dedicated herself to a career covering her community. After graduation, Stephanie worked for Patch Latino and City News Service as their budget editor before coming to the Long Beach Post in 2015. Currently, she is the community engagement editor for the Post, serving as executive liaison to the newly-formed Community Editorial Board. Throughout her work, Stephanie strives for fairness and balance above all else, and she loves to explore all sides of a story, especially those that get overlooked by others. “When you understand other perspectives, it goes towards peace and understanding and conflict resolution,” she says. “There are more similarities than differences between everyone.”