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

I am an international student from India. I had applied to the graduate journalism program at USC in 2019 and was supposed to start school in June, 2020. That’s when the pandemic hit and all plans I had for my future got postponed for a bit. I updated my admission to 2021 and that was possibly the best decision I could have made.

Before enrolling in graduate school, I completed my bachelor’s and first master’s degrees in English literature from Jadavpur University, Kolkata. As a student there, I would freelance and intern at various newsrooms in my country, such as The Hindu, The Telegraph, CNN News18 and The Wire. When I updated, I started working at Indian Political Action Committee, a political consultancy in my state, West Bengal, which also allowed me to travel across rural Bengal and talk to people from all walks of life. Talking and listening to people is something I have always enjoyed doing, so in a way I got to be a journalist in my role. When the elections of 2021 came to an end, I spent quality time with my family and friends at home, before packing my bags and coming to Los Angeles!

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

I learned about this program while researching the best journalism programs in the world. Two of my seniors from my university in India had been students here, too. The reputation and the courses really inspired me to apply and I made a plan to send in my application after the completion of my graduation, even though I had been dreaming of becoming a part of this institution since 2015. While going through the website, I first saw the media center and little did I know that in a few years, I’d get to work there! 

Moreover, the courses listed had everything from text, coding, video editing to making audio pieces. In my heart, I felt like I was a part of the cohort already and then when I got the admission letter, I felt a profound sense of pride and relief, which I can never put into words. I also received the USC Annenberg Graduate Fellowship and everything fell into place. And the final reason was talking to my future professor in my scholarship interview, Dr. Lisa Pecot-Hébert, whose support gave me the confidence to fly across the world and study here!

What have you enjoyed the most about the degree program?

Learning about the profession from my professors who have been journalists for years and been stalwarts in their fields is my biggest takeaway from this program. Before coming to USC, I could only write stories but today, I have honed skills that will make me a journalist who is an all-rounder, from making podcasts to producing news for TV, coding to analyzing datasets. The friends I made here will be my friends for years to come and the bonhomie we shared will forever resound in the media center and our classrooms. Annenberg has been like a family to me and every time I step in through the gates of my school, I feel supported and find the courage to tell stories, a profession I plan on making my life’s mission.