Bridget O’Brien left many legacies during her years at the Daily Bruin – captivating photojournalism, the transition to digital rather than film photography and a deep dedication to the staff and the newspaper.
But the legacy that seems to resonate the most with each generation of students that passes through the Bruin’s newsroom is her immense passion for travel and humanized storytelling.
Before graduating from UCLA with a degree in geography in 2003, the former Daily Bruin photo editor spent her final quarter sleeping on friends’ couches in exchange for a plate of brownies or a kind “thank you” so she could save up enough to travel to Nicaragua. Once she saved enough for her trip, O’Brien spent three months working on the country’s coffee plantations, documenting her experience through photography.
The result of O’Brien’s enterprise was the Bruin’s first expansive international package, which delved into the complexities of UCLA’s relationship with fair-trade coffee producers in Central America. Her story helped launch a promising career, which included freelance jobs around the world for USA Today and the New York Times, and also helped bring the Bruin into the national spotlight as a premier college newspaper.
About four years after her graduation, O’Brien and her husband died in a car crash in 2007. Soon after, her friends and co-workers from the Bruin set to memorialize her by founding the Bridget O’Brien Scholarship Foundation. The foundation sends a pair of our journalists – typically a reporter and photojournalist – to an international destination every year to write about issues with local connections and international implications.
Thanks to the scholarship foundation, Bruin reporters have documented issues including the struggles of the basketball community in Cameroon, where some UCLA basketball players were from, and the influence of the production of UCLA’s merchandise on garment factories and retail stores in China.
Most recently, the Bruin’s Sonali Kohli and Blaine Ohigashi, traveled to Malawi to report on the struggles of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in a country where being gay is criminalized. The three-day series ran earlier this week.
O’Brien’s parents, Kevin and Mari O’Brien, said it is rewarding to see their daughter’s dedication and passion continue with each generation of Bruin reporters.
“We hope Bridget’s spirit comes through with each (series),” her father said.
Compiled by Erin Donnelly, Bruin senior staff.