From his humble beginnings growing up in the streets of South Central to working on ESPN radio to creating his own media company, “Rebel Media,” a former El Camino student talked about his career and life.

Nick Hamilton revisited his roots of journalism at EC students about his experience in the sports industry covering major athletic events.

“You have to be driven enough to go after your dreams because nothing is given to you,” Hamilton said.

He worked for ESPN Radio, The Loud Mouth Experience, and currently working for Examiner.com as a writer, his passion for the written word began when he was a kid, and even though he said he “sucked” at it, he kept at it.

Hamilton landed his first internship through the EC Journalism program, with the help of one of the professors who had a connection with ESPN L.A., which was a “great learning experience for him.”

“It was a great asset because it equips students with the necessary skills to survive and be great, but the students have to be the ones to put in the work,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton also touched on controversial issues such as “racism” and “discrimination against women” existing in the industry. However that didn’t hinder him from pursuing his goal as a writer because he had a “passion for it”, a ” purpose for it.”

“The beauty of this industry is that you can write your own ticket, create your own, that’s what outlets are looking at now they want to know how much you have done on your own,” Hamilton said.

“I liked how honest he was about his career, he’s very humble but he’s very driven,” Cynthia Gaspar, 23, a tv/film production major, said. “(It) is really inspiring to me (and) I can continue to pursue my career in tv production regardless of how many times I’ve heard from people that it is hard to get your foot (in) the door.”

Kevin Rachal, 20, a business major, thought the speech was inspiring.

“It’s nice to hear from a person who is in the business and who has experience,” Rachal said. “Someone you can actually learn from.”

With all of his accomplishments thus far, Hamilton says he has not yet reached his “pinnacle.” His next moves include a possible upcoming documentary film while also continuing to expand his media company in hopes of turning it into a “multi-million dollar industry” someday.