Name: Nikki Abban
Studies: Major in Communication Rhetoric and Minor in Film Studies
Year: Senior
HC: What activities are you involved with here at Pitt?
NA: I am the President of Pitt’s Multicultural Association: The Melting Pot and I am a reporter and editor for The Pitt News Multimedia Team. I also am a member of UPTV (University of Pittsburgh Television). This year I am also interning with Pittsburgh’s NPR Station 90.5 WESA for the news/talk show, Essential Pittsburgh.
HC: What are your plans after graduation?
NA: (laughs nervously) I want to work with a progressive media company either in video production, editing, or camera work. I am also interested in working as a broadcast news reporter focusing on human-interest pieces rather than hard-hitting news stories. Any job in the media, really.
HC: Are you working on any projects right now?
NA: I am working on “The Nikki Abban Show;” it’s something I have been working on since my sophomore year. The show aims to highlight young people who are making an impact in their community. I want to use this as a platform to talk about topics ranging from serious content, such as current events, to fun topics about college life. I want the show to be a platform where young people are portrayed in a positive light, which we don’t see this enough in the mainstream media. I am also working on another project, a podcast called “Wake-Up Wednesdays,” with my friend Chris Skeriotis. It’s a fun podcast; we just talk about whatever is on our minds. We want to add a new perspective to current events; for example, one of our topics is about Charlie Hebdo, freedom of speech, as well as the Anti-Muslim sentiments in France. Just for fun, I am experimenting and working on an LP with my friends that will drop in March.
HC: What do you want to be when you “grow up?”
NA: When I grow up I want to be a talk show host; it has been a dream of mine for almost 10 years. I want my show to be a TV version of the web show I am working on currently. One day I would also like to be a producer of a film. When I am post-50 I am thinking about becoming a marine biologist; I have always loved aquatic animals. In my careers I hope to travel around the world as much as I can.
HC: What will you miss most about Pitt?
NA: I will really miss the people I have met here. I met friends that have helped me learn a lot about myself. I will miss the 3 am conversations, laughing, talking about life, dreaming about the future, just the little things. Laughing about my foreign people problems with friends who can relate. The people I’ve met working on creative projects with and meeting people on the same track as me. I’ll miss the Fuel and Fuddle “skinny dip” (the buffalo chicken dip). I will miss the St. Paul’s church—it’s so peaceful and beautiful on the inside—and, of course, the Cathedral of Learning. Drinking taro bubble tea at Schenley Plaza on a warm, but rare, day. I will miss the freedom of college.
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Image credit: Campus Celeb