Name: Aruveetil Mariyam Alavi

Hometown: Originally from Kerala, India, but grew up in Saudi Arabia.

Undergraduate Institution: Mount Carmel College, Bangalore; Psychology / English Literature and Language / Journalism

Prior Work Experience: Exam Services Assistant for the IELTS team at the British Council in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Main Area of Interest: I have always been fascinated by politics and news, and I see myself as an international political journalist. I am now closer to what I love doing with my internship at RYOT – an online news organization.

Extracurricular Involvement: At LSE, I was the course representative for the Global Communications program.

Favorite thing about USC Annenberg: What I love about USC is that the syllabus and curriculum, along with the infrastructure and technology, feel very up to date. This unique program has also afforded me the privilege of being able to claim that now I am a graduate student in the U.S., who completed high school in Saudi Arabia, undergraduate degree in India, and my first Master’s degree in the UK.

Favorite thing about Los Angeles: The spirit of Los Angeles is its diversity and how it welcomes people of diverse backgrounds, races and genders into its folds with a warm embrace. It would be hard to feel out of place in LA, because it has something for everyone.