In this month’s What’s up student column Pablo Reina Ruiz, a student and the official photographer and media person of the European Universities Beach Sports Championships 2023 in Malaga, elaborates how through this role, he discovered a new world.

This year I've been on an internship with the University of Malaga for seven months, and I've discovered a world. I'm Pablo, born in Malaga, Spain. I'm 22 years old, and I'm finishing my degree in audiovisual communication. As I was saying, in March of this year I started my internship with the sports complex of the University of Malaga. I didn't know what I was going to find, but I read that it would be related to sports photography, social media, and video, hobbies that I have always wanted to become my job.

When I started, they explained to me why they needed me, saying: "We are hosting a university championship on a European level in September; we need you to handle the communication and media". I didn't really understand the magnitude of what they were organising. So that's when I got to know EUSA for the first time (and also Beach Handball). When they explained to me what the EUSA European Universities Games were and showed me the photos of Łódź in 2022, I was really shocked by the scale of what it was going to be.

From that moment on, I started working on social media, planning publications, managing the website, editing videos, etc. In May, we hosted the national Beach Volleyball Championship, which served as a small rehearsal for what was going to be the EUSA European Universities Beach Championships Malaga 2023. For me, it was 3 days of taking a bunch of pictures and realising that, in the end, it's the quality that matters, not the quantity.

After a summer of continuous work, organisation, and planning for the event, the day arrived. The EUSA Beach Championships started on September 18. From the moment it started, the sheer number of people and the facilities we had available overwhelmed me a little. I had never covered an event this size before, and I wondered if I would be able to handle it all. I think the trick was to look ahead and not have time to think twice. If you are given an opportunity, you have to take it, and having the opportunity to be responsible for communication and the official photographer of an international sporting event is not something that happens to me every day.

After 8 days without stopping and thinking that I was living between a movie and reality because I couldn't believe what I was doing, the championship was over before I realised it. I say that I have discovered a world because, thanks to this intense experience, I have been able to meet wonderful people, and what I think is more important, I have learned a lot in one week about sport events, about sports photography, about how a photographer should be positioned in an awards gala... Sports photography has always been one of my hobbies, but thanks to this championship, I think I am going to try to dedicate myself to it.

I would like to thank the EUSA staff for being so close to me and their consideration, the University of Malaga for this chance, and all the people who have helped me to become, or at least get closer and closer to, a professional.

Are you a student with an opinion? We are looking for new contributors for our student column every month. Feel free to contact stc@eusa.eu to offer a piece or propose a topic.