By: Victoria Morales
Carol Guzy, a four-time Pulitzer prize winner, spoke at the Freeman Auditorium at the HUB on Tuesday, November 1st.
The Freeman Auditorium was filled with not only inspired journalism students, but students of other majors who have an interest in photojournalism, faculty of the College of Communications, and friends of Guzy. Guzy spoke on stage for about an hour and a half about her pulitzer prizes and her start in her career.
Guzy originally wanted to be an artist, however, her family told her to choose something more practical. While she was trying to figure out which career path to take, her friend handed her a camera and that was it. Her love for photography started after she took a course in photography and began her career in photojournalism.
Currently, Guzy is a freelance photographer. She has covered the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and this collection of photos are
her most recent Pulitzer prize winning piece. She believes that it is better to show the truth rather than cover it, which is why sometimes she receives backlash for taking pictures of people in pain rather than helping them. However, that is not always the case. At the end of the event, a student asked her if she does feel guilty for taking pictures rather than helping them. Guzy responded with saying that she has help them. She has pulled people out of rubble in Haiti and into safety.
“Let me start off by showing you how non glamorous this profession is,” said Guzy as she showed pictures of Haiti. “This job you get pretty dirty and you can’t wear high heels.” When it came to exposing certain truths, Guzy mentioned that photos can be a voice to the voiceless in a way because it shows what goes on that certain mainstream media doesn’t show.
She explained that photojournalism is more than just pictures with a song playing in the background, it is about the people. It is about the people they film, content is what reaches viewers. You see the pain behind the subjects’ eyes and tears spring to your own eyes because that is how powerful an image can be. Many of the students, including myself, were teary-eyed when images of pets that were abandoned and rescued during Hurricane Katrina were shown.
One of the last slideshows was a collection of images from 9/11. These pictures spoke volumes to the audience because of the slow tune music in the background and the emotional images that Guzy displayed. 
Many of us continued to tear up and sniffles were heard throughout the quiet audience. She gave great advice to those who are interested in Photojournalism because she showed what powerful images are supposed to make us feel.
Although I attended this event for an assignment for my print journalism class, I learned a lesson that I cannot learn in a classroom. This made me realize how important pictures are in journalism and that they speak louder than words alone could. I will take the time out to actually look at what the picture is showing me and take in the message it is trying to portray as hopefully all of us will continue to do.
To view more of Guzy’s photos click here.