After 12 years working the nightclub in Las Vegas, Roberto Smith was ready for a change. A move to Florida led to an unexpected encounter that would transform his life — the owner of a business spotted him playing with dogs on the street and offered him a job in California.
“I couldn’t believe it at the beginning, that they were going to pay me to be taking care of doggies,” Smith says.
Seven years later, he’s found more than just a career but discovered his true purpose. Managing a dozen dogs at a time, and on busy days even more, has taught him lessons that extend far beyond animal care. The work requires understanding a different language — one of energy, patience and compassion. Each morning, Smith picks up his furry clients for hikes and playtime, making sure they return home happy. The reward isn’t just in the wagging tails, but in the human connections too.
For someone who always wanted to work with animals, Smith found his therapy in giving these dogs what they need: love, discipline and a little bit of joy in their day.
“It’s nice to see people. Sometimes they’re going through things, and they stop you and say, ‘Thank you for this. I was having a bad day, and the doggies helped me out a little bit,’” Smith says.
Ziyu (Julian) Zhu is a multimedia journalist born and raised in Beijing, China. He earned his undergraduate degree in Journalism from Boston University in May 2025. With a passion for photography since middle school, Julian focused on his studies in photojournalism during his time at BU. Since 2023, Julian has worked as a freelance photographer for China Xinhua News Agency, covering major news events around the Greater Boston area and the New England region, and from June to August 2024, Julian interned at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as a multimedia journalist. Julian received multiple recognitions for his works, including a finalist in the Spot News category at the College Photographer of the Year (CPOY) contest in October 2024, and a Best in Show award at the Boston Press Photographers Association’s (BPPA) Annual College Student Photography Contest in April 2023, etc. Some of Julian’s works have also been reprinted in major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Rolling Stones, and The Associated Press. At Stanford, Julian plans to deepen his research in visual journalism and multimedia storytelling, exploring how photo and video journalism can shape public understanding. He looks forward to working under the mentorship of Stanford’s expert faculty and contributing to campus news and media services. In his free time, Julian enjoys reading, analog photography, and Legos.
Meisi (she/her) graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison with a bachelor's degree in journalism and information science. During her undergraduate studies, she worked as a research assistant at a computational communication research group, where she analyzed vaccine skepticism and misinformation on social media, contributing examples for supervised learning in model development. Through various internships, she also gained experience translating complex social science, medical, and environmental research into accessible content for the lay public. At Stanford, she looks forward to strengthening her storytelling skills using data and multimedia, while contributing her multicultural perspective to class discussions and supporting peers. In her free time, Meisi enjoys playing tennis and watching live music and sports—especially soccer and Formula 1.
