Where are you from and what were you doing before enrolling in graduate school?

I’m originally from Saratoga, California, but I was living in New York City prior to coming to USC. I did my undergrad at New York University, majoring in Film and Television, and focused mostly on screenwriting while there. I took a gap year between graduating undergrad and coming to USC, during which I worked on various film projects and sets and dove into the world of arts criticism.

How did you learn of the degree program and why did you choose USC Annenberg?

I knew that regardless of the specific master’s degree I would be getting, my goal was to be a working writer. The ideal situation, for me, was to ultimately still use my film knowledge; I found the Specialized Journalism (Arts and Culture) degree program while seeing what courses USC offers, and was immediately drawn to it. I chose Annenberg because of the small program size, hands-on learning opportunities, and proximity to the film industry, the last of which is my focus within the program.

What have you enjoyed the most about the degree program?

I’ve loved being this year’s co-editor-in-chief of Ampersand LA; I feel as though I’ve grown immensely as both a writer and editor in a very short amount of time. Working on Ampersand has also been wonderful in that I’ve been able to work directly with so many of my peers in the SJAC and other master’s programs. I also really appreciate the variety of learning experiences available at Annenberg — I took Coding and Programming for Storytelling in the fall and learned basic web design skills that previously felt difficult to grasp.