Name: Mary O’Reilly

Hometown: Palo Alto, California

Undergraduate Institution: UCLA

Prior Work Experience: I've worked in educational, non-profit, and corporate media and communications. I was an assistant editor at Birdcage Press working on educational children's games, a Copy Editor for Link TV’s Peabody Award-winning show Mosaic World News from the Middle East during the Arab Spring, and a Media Planner at Grey San Francisco working for a high tech client.   

Main Area of Interest: I am interested in the power of media to catalyze social change. My research at LSE focused on the social impact of the photo blog Humans of New York and the combined use of photography and storytelling as a powerful and transformative communication tool. I am further pursuing this interest in my graduate work at USC, which includes coursework on visual storytelling, social marketing, and entertainment education.

Extracurricular Involvement: I currently work as a Graduate Editorial Press Associate at the International Journal of Communication. I am also interning at Picture Motion, a marketing and advocacy firm for issue driven films.

Twitter: @marieleor

Favorite thing about USC Annenberg: I love the practical quality of classes and coursework which prepare you for real world work environments and the access to faculty with such diverse academic and professional experience. 

Favorite thing about Los Angeles: The wonderful mix of cultures, neighborhoods, and personalities, and the great creative ferment of the whole metropolitan area.