Elizabeth Roman sat in a desk at Holyoke Community College ready to begin her journalism class. She never thought her career would begin at this very moment in 2002.

Now, Roman, 32, is a professional journalist for the Springfield Republican.

“I can’t believe I get paid to just write every day,” she said.

After that very journalism class Roman hesitantly enrolled in almost 15 years ago, her professor and columnist at the time, Tom Shea, landed her an internship with the Republican.

Interning until she graduated from the University of Massachusetts with an English degree in 2006, Roman gained experience in the media industry and was hired full-time.

Today, Roman is a staff reporter for The Republican and MassLive. She mostly covers Springfield, while also writing for the paper’s weekly Spanish publication.

Her parents moved from Puerto Rico to the North End of Springfield in the 1980s where they raised Roman and her younger brother.

100 percent Puerto Rican and fluent in Spanish, Roman is very valuable to the Latino community of Springfield.

“It’s a benefit because you get a community to trust you that wouldn’t normally read the paper because there’s a language barrier or because they don’t feel well represented by the media,” she said.

Because Roman is bilingual and formed such a close relationship with the Latino community, the Republican’s Spanish publication has truly impacted Springfield.

According to Roman, the weekly Spanish publication, titled “El Pueblo Latino,” is free and read by almost 30,000 people each week.

“I’m passionate about promoting Latinos in a positive light because the media does a pretty good job of presenting them in an awful light,” said Roman. “I feel like it’s a personal mission of mine to show that side of the community.”

Even though she is close with the Spanish community, the reporter hopes her work impacts Springfield as a whole by covering local cultural events.

As many people do in 2016, Roman starts off her work day by checking her phone. She checks her emails and other news sites to catch up with what is going on in the world.

It is not required to go into the office first thing in the morning, so Roman usually heads off to interviews she set up a few days prior.

The ultimate goal is to write about four stories a day for the Republican. Besides that, the writer is essentially in control of her own schedule.

“They want to have an idea of where you are, but they give us a cell phone so they can pretty much contact us any time they need us,” she said.

A cell phone is not all that the newspaper gave Roman.

A few years ago, the Republican sent Roman to Puerto Rico to help write for a book titled Nuesta Historia: the History of Latinos in Western Massachusetts.

“I’m considered an on-the-road journalist, so I just carry my laptop everywhere with me,” she said.

Roman agreed that journalism is evolving and part of its evolution is the creation of online content for MassLive, The Republican’s online edition.

“It’s exciting to be a part of media at this time,” she said. “I enjoy experimenting with video and photography. It’s something that you created all by yourself. It keeps you working and keeps you learning.”

Whether it is for The Republican or not, Roman is always writing.

In her free time, she takes part in a fiction writing group and has recently started to explore poetry.

What also started out as a leisure activity is Roman’s column on ice cream. It has now gained popularity and is published in the weekly paper.

By tagging companies on social media with her reviews rated from one to five scoops, the companies sometimes send the ice cream fanatic coupons to try more.

Taste testing various ice creams is one reason for Roman to gather with her friends in her Forest Park apartment which she shares with her cat Jean Luc.

Free ice cream, especially Ben and Jerry’s “Phish Food,” may be one of the reasons Roman loves her job so much.

“I’ve had opportunities to do other kinds of work, but it doesn’t suit me,” she said. “I find this job to be very honorable and I like the fact that I get to share people’s stories and that they trust me enough to share their lives through my words.”

As a young college student fresh out of Springfield’s Central High School, Roman was, and still is, a very passive person.

Yet her natural ability to write caught her professor’s eye back in 2002 and she’s never looked back.