What impact did your graduate experience have on your professional trajectory?

I arrived at Annenberg with experience in arts writing, but the program encouraged to step out of my comfort zone and pick up new journalistic skills — be it news reporting, audio production, or editing and publishing. I have since been able to avail professional opportunities in all these areas and build a wide and versatile portfolio.

What from your USC Annenberg education best equips you to face the challenges of your field today?

The fundamentals of reporting and editing. Although I work primarily as a critic and not a reporter, I’ve realized that basic journalism skills — everything from AP Style to fact-checking, to interviewing, to structuring a story, to coming up with good leads — form the necessary foundation for any editorial career. Annenberg drills these into you, and loads you with practical experience in applying them across different media forms. Also, the program tries to create a microcosm of the “real” world, which is very useful as work experience. I had the opportunity to lead the editorial team for Ampersand, Annenberg’s arts magazine, and that allowed me to secure editing positions upon graduation.

What advice would you give for someone considering graduate studies at USC?

Don’t be afraid to try new things. Annenberg is the ideal environment to do so, and you won’t get another chance to step out of your areas of expertise when you're in the real world. Take classes that cover beats or methods you have no prior experience with; they might change your life. Also, be ambitious with your thesis projects! Don’t forego the opportunity to pursue a passion project with the university’s resources at your disposal.

What is the one thing that a USC Annenberg student ought to take advantage of while enrolled?

The media center! Only once you graduate do you realize what a treasure trove of resources the media center is, with its professional-grade equipment, seasoned industry mentors, and collaborative opportunities. I was thrilled to be able to learn how to record and edit audio there, which is an experience I'd never had before. I ended up winning a National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Award for the very first audio story I produced, which was thanks in large part to the incredible media center mentors.

Girish’s notable projects:

• Assistant Editor of and writer for Film Comment Magazine, the premier film magazine in the United States, published by Film at Lincoln Center in New York
• Co-programmer for the Talks section of the New York Film Festival, one of the longest-running and most prestigious film festivals in the U.S.
• Film critic for The New York Times
• Contributing Editor for Field Notes, a journal dedicated to nonfiction cinema published by the Academy Award-winning production unit Field of Vision