Bob Barboza (LSC 2008)

bob-barboza Freelance Writer

What do you do professionally?

I like to describe myself as a professional writer who happens to spend most of my time being a journalist. I graduated from Southeastern Massachusetts University in 1976 with a BA in English, and an internship at The Dartmouth Chronicle led to my first newspaper job. I have spent most of the 40 years since writing for Southcoast newspapers, with occasional forays into magazine writing and editing, photography work, and various advertising and marketing jobs. Since leaving The Chronicle full-time at the end of 2014, I continue to write as a freelancer for various local newspapers while working on my next book.

What did you find most valuable about the LSC experience and how did it contribute to your community leadership?

Probably the most valuable part of my LSC experience was learning that one person’s efforts can make a difference in their community, especially if they are working in collaboration with like-minded people seeking to make positive changes in that community. After taking part in the Leadership SouthCoast program, I decided I would take a more active role in community leadership through my newspaper editor/reporter’s role, seeking out people and groups working for positive change to help them accomplish their goals, instead of just sitting around waiting for them to contact the newspaper asking for help. In this way, I think I was able to contribute a lot more to community advancement in the last few years at the newspaper than I did in the beginning. Especially after my time in LSC, I always tried to recognize and aid people doing good in the community, and ignore those who were not working for positive change.

Describe your leadership in one word.

Education.My lifetime mission as a journalist has always been to give my readers information they can use to improve their lives… reports they can use to learn about town government, community events, and current affairs that would make them more informed voters, more willing volunteers to good causes, or better parents and students, or more curious citizens. My feature stories tried to similarly educate people about their neighbors, their communities, their common history and achievements… as did my humble efforts to write good, entertaining poetry and a local history of Old Dartmouth’s Revolutionary War heroes.

I learned a lot both as a participant in the LSC program, and as a member of the Board of Directors for two terms after graduation. I am proud to say that I am a graduate and a supporter of this important organization.