A year ago, I left my job to prepare for graduate school at Columbia Journalism School. I was terrified, and filled with anxiety. All I knew was that the ten months ahead of me would be demanding, challenging, and fast. I didn’t know what that would feel like, how I would fare as a new reporter, or the scariest, if I’d want to be a journalist by the end of it all.
As it turns out, I can meet demands, rise to challenges, and keep up with the pace of the Ivy League’s rigorous, terrifying, enriching, exciting, journalism graduate program. At the end of it, I’ve been rejected a countless number of times for man-on-the-street interviews, connected with the most fascinating humans, produced hours of tape, and chased down leads that made my heart race.
Part of the rollercoaster was my fellowship with the professional prizes office, specifically for the duPont-Columbia Awards. You’ll hear the duPont referred to as “the Pulitzer of broadcast.” It was exceptional to be surrounded by incredible journalism and have the opportunity to meet and learn from sharp and humble reporters.
I’m including links to three audio pieces edited by the incredible and inimitable Leena Sanzgiri and Daniel Alarcón. Each of them pushed me as a producer. Ask me about them, I’d love to tell you what they took and what I learned from them.
The Yearlong Goodbye, my Nanima had a year left, according to her doctors. We never told her.
RMS Has No Plan B, In 2023, Rohan Sridharan left his tech job to pursue his dreams of being a rapper. Nearly two years later, RMS reflects on what it took to make that decision: focus, clarity, and vision.
Joan Didion Gets Sold Out, There’s a new narrative imposition facing Joan Didion’s legacy, her diary has just been published as a book and in public archive— without her consent. What are the ethics of posthumous publication? What value does it add? For Telling True Stories in Sound, Vahini Shori talks to some experts to find out.
For fun, I’ll share my first published print piece. It’s about cannabis shops in New York City and how owners and managers felt about the raids and shutdowns of so many unlicensed shops.
And here’s a piece published from Columbia News Service, about a typewriting poet in New York City. I spent an evening with him on the High Line, it was one of the most memorable experiences in the city that owns my heart.
I’ve got more work from Columbia to pitch: a 3,500 word thesis on the criminal justice system still looking for a home and a piece that I don’t know will ever be ready for print, but I’m grateful Dale Maharidge pushed me to report.
I’m tremendously grateful for the opportunity to attend a graduate program I thought was well beyond my capabilities, and to thrive there. I’ve made lifelong friends and produced work I’m proud of. You can read that sappy spiel here: Graduation Reflection!
And now, I’m officially a reporter at large! I am a Report for America corps member in Birmingham, Alabama for NPR member station, WBHM. But more on that another time.
So proud!
So endlessly proud of you and all that you do 🥹