“Reflections of the Past Leading to a Future of Possibilities: An Interview with MORIA’s Founding Editor, Tricia Lopez” by Kaci Theros

MORIA is a living and breathing creature at Woodbury University, ever-changing and never foretelling what a semester might have in store for the MORIA editorial team. Tricia Lopez is one of the magazine’s original editors, who helped draft the first issue of MORIA and, thus, helped create its routines, which ultimately resulted in the lively class it is today.
When speaking with Tricia, I asked why she decided to take the class in the first place. Tricia said she had no idea what “Digital Publication” (the original name of the course) was or how the class would go. She began her college career at Woodbury University in 2016 because of the flexibility of the Professional Writing major. Tricia knew from childhood that she wanted to pursue a career in writing, stating that it was “solidified in my DNA;” however, she was still unsure of the type of writing she wanted to study. Since Woodbury’s writing major covers various styles, the program intrigued her.
It was the Woodbury registrar who casually suggested that she take Digital Publication as an elective because of her major, so Tricia enrolled in the first-ever MORIA class in the fall of 2017, making her a pioneer for the magazine. Tricia admits the class was challenging, and as a sophomore, there was stress, anxiety, and pressure about whether you were doing your role correctly, or if you were even worthy enough to be reviewing the writing of professionals.
What made Tricia stay in the class was “the idea of starting a magazine from scratch and seeing it all the way through.” Tricia admits that in her high-school years, she enjoyed blogging and the art of reading and writing, saying that “the idea of making something that you then keep up with is something I had already done, and so this was just one step further.” That initial leap of faith led to Tricia enrolling in the class three times in total and then volunteering her fourth year (you can now only take the MORIA class twice). Tricia explains that “MORIA opened up a whole new world of writing for me. It made me realize I can do much more with writing than just making a book."
Tricia gained valuable skills from MORIA that she uses in her current career in advertising and helped her realize that writing is a slow process. She learned about the production side of writing and how it takes time and editing. Tricia admits that she is a fast-paced person, but the class showed her that it is important to slow down and live in the present moment inside — and outside — of her writing career.
When asked what her favorite MORIA memory is, she responded that it was the launch day of the very first issue of MORIA: “It was a very ceremonial thing, just finally getting to see MORIA live for the first time; that was cool.” Creating something from scratch and seeing the end product was very rewarding for Tricia, knowing that the time, effort, and dedication to the magazine paid off.
Tricia graduated from Woodbury University in December 2019 and was working a full-time job in social-media writing, but she was not enjoying it. Then, the global pandemic hit, and she was let go. She saw this as an opportunity to reevaluate her situation. She decided to attend graduate school at Mount Saint Mary’s University and was able to work as a teaching assistant and to help her mentor professor with Instagram marketing and writing for the University.
After those experiences, Tricia realized it was unlikely she would continue in social-media writing. Tricia explains that “it was too corporate. They were hesitant to adapt to TikTok and other trends.” After coming to this realization, Tricia sat down and reflected on how she felt, letting her writing become vulnerable and a gateway to her feelings. Tricia states “my best writing came from the pandemic and just being forced to sit at home. I was such an on-the-go type of person . . . I hadn't sat down with myself.” Tricia goes on to say that “at that point, I was working these two jobs that I didn't really like, so there was this weird feeling, but I let it all out in my writing. I think I even shocked myself." Her poetry’s vulnerable speaker definitely comes through in the poems of Tricia’s that we accepted for publication in MORIA’s soon-to-be-released Issue 12, which address such content as her grandmother’s death last year, sharing her grief and state of mind during this difficult time.
Today she works in advertising — copywriting commercials and brand campaigns for the NFL, Netflix, and many more. Tricia has been at her current job for almost two years. Tricia says that MORIA has taught her to ask the big questions when working with clients. Asking a client's theme and purpose for the advertisement helps Tricia better understand how to write these commercials in a way that engages a larger audience. Just as MORIA sticks to a theme and a narrative, Tricia uses these same tools in her job to get to the core of what the client wants, making her job efficient and coherent. In five years, Tricia would love to become a creative director and begin to spend more time on her own writing.
When I asked Tricia what inspires her to write, she replied that she loves to write the craziest-seeming stories that often come from her dreams. The stories she writes might be dark, but she includes hints of her personal life. She loves to push boundaries and feeds off of people saying “no” to her. That initial “no” challenges Tricia to stick with the concept and push it further in order to get to that “yes.” She draws inspiration from her parents and grandparents, revealing personal insights and wanting to share unique — even unhinged — stories that are meaningful to her.
Tricia’s advice to college students who are pursuing writing is, “if someone tells you it's not going to work, you have to prove them wrong. If you truly believe in yourself, start proving people wrong.” Tricia believes that if you are passionate about something in your soul — even in the face of piles of rejection letters or requests for edits — you must keep moving forward and believe in yourself. Tricia’s advice for college students in general is, “don’t worry right now and have fun!” Tricia explains, “when you go into the workforce, there are no parents or professors who will help you,” which makes you your own advocate. Tricia emphasizes standing up for yourself when you feel something's not right and taking ownership of your career.
Tricia’s recommendation for Woodbury students taking the MORIA class is: if you can take the class again, do it. Tricia says, “the first time around you come to the class nervous,” wondering if you are doing your role correctly, or if launch day is going to go smoothly, but “the second time you take the class, you know more about MORIA’s whole process.” Tricia believes if you take the class again, you will have even more fun and will feel more confident in yourself. For students who have never taken the class, Tricia says, “take the leap!”
Tricia’s last comments about writing are that “writing is so important, and it is truly overlooked.” Tricia believes writers are not going to be replaced by AI because human emotion can not be generated. Tricia urges us to stop and appreciate the people behind the writing because there is real emotion being evoked and expressed: “What we read is a perfect mixture of words,” carefully curated by a writer to be read a certain way. “There is a lot of power in words and writing. The more that you can expose yourself to, whether it be in classes or reading or just hearing someone talk about writing, the more you can open yourself up to the world around you.”
Part of MORIA’s guidelines include the policy that alumni of the university must wait three years after graduation before submitting work to be considered for publication in the magazine. Tricia was eligible just this year and will have two poems coming out in the upcoming issue. This full-circle moment with her connection to MORIA is an astonishing accomplishment, and the MORIA team will continuously cheer Tricia on in her future career endeavors and accomplishments.

To learn more about Tricia Lopez, you can visit her website: https://triciamarialopez.com/

Kaci Theros

Kaci was born and raised in Hawaii on the Island of Oahu. She is a 4th-year architecture student and is minoring in graphic design. She loves anything related to Disney, traveling, and movies. Her favorite color is pink. In her downtime, you can find her working on her small Etsy Business or at Disneyland!