“I’m not sure if this is legal anymore,” Luke Vargas ’08 joked, recounting the time in high school when he made a press pass at Kinkos to gain access to a presidential rally. To his surprise, it worked. The Secret Service was adequately impressed with his credentials: Editor-in-Chief and Founder of the Point of View (POV).
Mr. Vargas told this story and many others when he returned to the Upper School (US) on Monday, Jan. 13 to talk with students about his career in global journalism and offer life advice he’s learned along the way.
Since graduating from the US 17 years ago, Mr. Vargas has reported on global affairs from 40 countries, met various world leaders, and now hosts “What’s News,” a daily news podcast, for The Wall Street Journal. But Mr. Vargas’ journey began while he was just an US student. As a junior interested in politics and journalism, he created the POV, the school’s only political magazine.
“I was completely bitten by this idea of just getting out into the world and covering politics,” Mr. Vargas said.
The first edition of the POV, printed in the spring of 2007, included political cartoons, photo essays, and an editorial about the war in Iraq. During his visit, Mr. Vargas urged students to pursue their interests and take risks.
“If it makes you nervous, do it,” he said.
During his presentation, Mr. Vargas frequently returned to the theme of persisting in the face of adversity. He recounted various obstacles he encountered throughout his student career, including the difficulty of starting the POV and being rejected from both a travel fellowship at New York University and a Cable News Network fellowship in New York.
A full Community Room of students congregated to hear Mr. Vargas speak, each drawn for different reasons, including interest in journalism, plans to apply for the Marina Keegan ’08 Fellowship, and the chance to hear from someone who once stood in their shoes. James Constan ’25 said he left the event struck by Mr. Vargas’s.
“He was very impressively driven,” James said. “At times when he created situations to get around barriers, it was really smart … He was very inspiring in the resiliency department.”
James also appreciated his genuine and engaged manner.
“Luke just seemed like someone who actually wanted to be there and share his insights because he thought he had something valuable, rather than just being there to show off a little bit and not really add anything of substance,” he said.
The current editors-in-chief of the POV, Rohan Jayaraman and Sophia Stafford (both ’25), attended to hear about their founder’s experiences at the US and beyond.
“As an editor-in-chief of the magazine, I was curious to kind of see how it first came into fruition, and I think that he was also just a very inspirational guy,” Rohan said. “I never really thought of how these ideas came to BB&N.”
Mr. Vargas also touched on his involvement with the Keegan Fellowship—a program created in honor of Marina Keegan ’08, a classmate and close friend of Mr. Vargas. Marina, who was passionate about activism and art during her time at the US, died days after graduating from Yale University. In addition to providing funding for juniors and sophomores to work on activism and arts-related projects over the summer, the fellowship offers students a chance to mature individually, Mr. Vargas said.
“The Keegan Fellowship is that chance to do something a little bit nerve-wracking and learn a lot about yourself along the way.”
In his current position within the program, Mr. Vargas offers guidance to students who are considering applying and serves on a board that reviews applications. Ultimately, two students or groups are selected each year. Junior Class Dean and US English Teacher Beth McNamara works alongside Mr. Vargas on the Fellowship Committee.
“Luke has just been a huge part in helping advise students and having a wonderful sense of what he’s trying to remember in Marina’s legacy and also just see in our students.”
Ms. Mac first taught Mr. Vargas during his sophomore year. She was close with both Mr. Vargas and Ms. Keegan. Through their involvement in the Keegan Fellowship, Mr. Vargas and Ms. Mac have stayed in touch. She invited him back to the US because students would be able to relate to him, she said.
“He knows what you’ve been through,” Ms. Mac said. “He knows what you’re going to do in your future years. It’s as relevant advice as it could possibly be, and it might echo what some of your teachers say, but it’s better when it comes from an actual alum.”
After the talk, Jonathan Andreoli ’26, a junior considering applying for the Keegan Fellowship, joined a line of students waiting with questions for Mr. Vargas. His words were encouraging, Jonathan said.
“He said that whatever we want to do, we should just do it and find a way to make it work. And he was open to any idea we had, so that helped us reassure ourselves with whatever we wanted to do, that it could be accepted.”
Pilar Bowen-Arce ’28 was glad she attended Mr. Vargas’ talk, she said.
“I just figured that if there was an opportunity to learn from someone who’s been in the same position as me, I should take it.”
