From Europe to Asia, alumna Natalie Compton ’13 has covered food and travel from every continent, documenting her journeys as a writer for the Washington Post travel site “By the Way,” most recently sharing her experience trying a viral 24-hour travel trend: the “out and back” trip.

Her engaging travel tips and first-person perspectives earned her the prestigious Lowell Thomas Journalist of the Year Grand Prize at the 2024 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition—the Post’s first gold in the category.

Judges described the entry as “a tribute to the power of imagination in finding unique stories around the globe and in our own backyard.”

Compton, who earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Pacific, has also written for major outlets nationwide including GQ, VICE, the Los Angeles Times and Food & Wine. She received the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the Pacific Alumni Association in 2024.

Reflecting on where her passion for writing began, Compton shared memories, insight and advice from her time at Pacific.

Congrats on winning the Lowell Thomas Award! Can you tell me about your entry?

I went to Katmai National Park in Alaska, where brown bears are livestreamed, and they have fans around the world who watch all season long when they're not hibernating. This has turned into a competition called Fat Bear Week. I wrote about Fat Bear Week for The Washington Post, and finally got the chance to go to Alaska to see these bears in person.

I write a lot about travel etiquette, and I also do a column about answering traveler questions. I think it was a combination of all that work submitted that helped me win, but having fun assignments like Fat Bear Week helped make me stand out amongst the competition.

During your time at Pacific, you worked on the student-run university newspaper, The Pacifican. What was that experience like?

I loved that The Pacifican was a place where you could explore writing for different beats. It invited people to write about whatever they wanted. I loved writing restaurant reviews. I always loved food, but didn't really know how to write about food. I got to go around Stockton and try different restaurants and have an excuse to eat great things and write about them. 

What skills did you pick up from writing for The Pacifican that have transferred to your career today?

I think because The Pacifican was small and invited you to try different jobs, I felt more confident in taking photos for my own stories I was writing. I always wanted to be a writer. Photography wasn't something I studied in class or in a serious way, but I practiced a lot and went out on assignments with my camera, and today still do. 

How do you identify what makes an engaging story?

If something interests you, it probably interests other people. Look for things other people are talking about, things you're curious about, even things that seem obvious. What are things that have an emotional pull for you? What do you think other people should know about? Finding a way to make people care is a good way to hunt down interesting stories.

What is your biggest piece of travel advice?

It can feel uncomfortable or scary, but traveling alone has been a way to learn some of life's best lessons and make you more brave and make you more confident. I wish everybody could travel alone just to get that invaluable life experience. 

What is your favorite travel piece that you've written?

I feel extremely lucky to get to write about a lot of wacky things, and my job has taken me to some bizarre events like the world's biggest pizza convention and the quote, unquote world's biggest truck stop in Iowa. I have really enjoyed going on these bizarre adventures that I would have never gone on in my civilian life.

But one of the most meaningful stories that I've written or worked on here in my current job at the Washington Post was doing a big profile on Rick Steves. He is a guidebook writer and TV personality. He was this huge celebrity and inspiration to me. And fast forward, years later, I had done a few stories on him in the past, and asked his team, can I come out and spend a few days shadowing Rick and learning about what is he like at home? They said yes, and it was so special to follow my hero around and see what his life was like and hear him talk about the struggles of becoming who he was. It was so meaningful. The story turned out really fun, and was one of the top read stories for The Washington Post that year. That was probably my favorite story of all time.

What’s next for you?

I'm looking forward to going to Yosemite in a few weeks to report on how the National Park is doing after huge government shakeups in recent weeks, and this summer, I am doing some reporting from Europe. There’s a lot to be excited about on the horizon, a lot of stories that will be challenging and meaningful, hopefully fun for readers and informative. I am still feeling really excited to get to do what I love, and I am grateful I started at Pacific and ended up where I am today, it feels totally surreal. I feel so lucky.