Hooked on Social J
Why I applied to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
My decision to become a journalist is, what I see as, the coalescence of my previous career choices, each inspiring and bolstering the next. Although I feel confident with my decision, it took me working many different jobs to reach it.
I attended Boston University for my undergrad, where I focused on film and television communications. Upon graduating in 2015, I was fortunate to land a job at an entertainment PR firm, publicizing independent films and feature documentaries, such as Class Divide and Zero Days. The exposure to incredible filmmakers and their powerful works inspired me to move from publicity to production.
I left my job in PR to pursue a career as a freelance video producer. Reaching out to all my connections in the production community, I managed to pick up a semi-steady stream of gigs, from PAing commercials to editing start-up promotions, to shooting music videos. With my budding skillset, I managed to land a job on the production of HBO’s Rolling Stone: Stories From the Edge and even produced two documentary shorts of my own.
Despite my growing network, I was not making enough money to support myself. So, I took a part-time job at the school where my mother works as a physical therapist; the Henry Viscardi School (HVS), in Long Island, New York. The school offers students with severe disabilities a traditional, yet specialized, educational setting along with “a variety of therapies, assistive technology and medical supports.” I worked as a teaching assistant there, helping feed, transfer and teach students with disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and cerebral palsy (CP).
I gained an extraordinary perspective at HVS. Connecting with these students helped me understand their experiences. It taught me what it’s like for them to access our inaccessible world. Above all, it demonstrated to me the importance of finding the humanity in others. Working at the Henry Viscardi school boosted me over, what Arlie Russell Hochschild describes as, my empathy wall. Equipped with this new perspective, I applied to the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
Hoping to gain a fundamental knowledge of journalism, I originally applied and was accepted into the MA in Journalism program. However, after hearing Jeff Jarvis and Carrie Brown discuss an empathy-based approach to journalism that puts the communities’ needs first, I was hooked on Social Journalism.
With the techniques I acquire moving through the program, I hope to serve my community of differently-abled friends, particularly those living with neuromuscular disorders, like SMA and CP. Empathizing with this community of people is what exposed and encouraged me to correct my own misconceptions. Now my goal in the social journalism program is to understand how to replicate this experience through my work.
Wish me luck.
