What is your major/minor?
My major is Broadcast Journalism and my minor is English.
Congratulations! You just found out you won a scholarship from the New York Women in Communications Foundation. What has that experience been like?
I applied for the scholarship and honestly it was a very long process. There were the interviews and such, a phone interview and an in person interview. The New York Women in Communications is basically a membership with all different ladies in the industry in New York, people who work at news television stations, in print, radio, you name it. There are either mentors in the membership or there are students like myself who are really trying to learn and get more experience and apply for scholarships. Thankfully, I won. I’m still in shock.
Along with the monetary award, you get to do a lot of other cool things. Can you tell us about what you’ll be doing as one of the recipients of the scholarship?
What that means is I’m a member now so I get to take advantage of the opportunities that come along with that. We get to attend the Matrix Awards, which are going to be at the end of April. Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb from the Today Show will be emceeing it. Queen Latifah and a lot of other people from the industry will be there, a lot of female public figures that are going to be speaking, which is great. We’re also probably going to be on the Today Show for it, so there are a lot of big things and it’s very exciting.
You’re also are one the Assistant News Directors at WRHU. What are your responsibilities at the station?
At WRHU, I do something called The Daybook, which is where I get to research different big stories that are happening locally, nationally or wherever. I try to come up with different angles to the story that our reporters at WRHU can report on, or you know, give it them so they can come up with the ideas themselves. I also look at a site called AP Exchange, which is run by the Associated Press, where they have different events going on in Manhattan or locally that the students, our reporters, can go to themselves and actually report on and this also includes events at Hofstra University itself, you know on campus where people can go to and interview people and such. It’s a lot to organize but it’s really fun. And then also, I get to assist Joe Corbisiero and Brianna Borresen, the News Director and the Assistant News Director respectively with anything to do with managing the news team. We’re the biggest news team on Long Island and we’re really proud of that.
You have been keeping very busy throughout your college career. Have you had any internships?
I interned at MTV last semester as a production intern for their digital team, which is cool because as a journalist it’s interesting to learn about all of the different sides of journalism and media. I got to learn about the digital side of the business and production as well. I’ve also worked as a contributing writer for the Celebrity Café.
What advice do you have for someone who would like to emulate your successes while in college?
The advice I have for people, whether they are in college or in high school, is just to dive into any opportunity that you find. Don’t necessarily follow the path of other people. It’s good to be inspired by others and see what they’re doing. Maybe you want to apply for something they applied for, whatever, but really try to find yourself and market yourself as an individual. That’s probably my best advice.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I would absolutely love to work as either a producer or a host on a talk show. I just love news in general; it’s really my passion. Even if I worked as a reporter, there’s no shame at all. A reporter would be great as well. Either one.