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

I’m from Florida, and before I came to USC I was working as a radio reporter and fill-in host at an NPR station in Jacksonville. Before that I was also a state government reporter in Illinois as part of the Report For America news corps. My focus was on equity and legislation that impacted Black, Latine, rural and low-income communities.

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

I was happy with the work I had done in Florida and Illinois, but I really wanted to take my career and my journalism to the next level. A colleague of mine who I greatly respect was an alumnus of USC’s Journalism (MS) program, and she recommended I go for the specialized journalism degree, citing the incredible mentors and professors she had during her time here. After research into the program and determining whether going back to school was the right fit for me, I decided to apply after seeing how I could customize my course schedule around how I wanted to develop my skills.

What have you enjoyed the most about the degree program?

The flexibility of courses and selection of professors really can’t be matched in terms of their quality. Professors pushed me to improve on my work, and helped me freelance and transform classwork into stories that were professionally published during my time as a student. I was able to develop new skills on the cutting edge of investigative journalism like open source intelligence, and explore genres of reporting I hadn’t considered like foreign affairs and arts criticism. I’ve been very pleased with my experience.