How did you come to choose to study journalism at Hofstra? What have you most enjoyed about your classes and professors?

I started as a chemistry major at Hofstra. I honestly wasn’t sure what I wanted to study. My first year I wondered: How am I supposed to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life when I haven’t even started living?

I’ve always loved writing, so I changed majors to give journalism a shot. It was the best decision I’ve ever made. I enjoy hearing stories and telling them. I found my passion, and I think it shows in the work I do. The journalism program also has a dual-degree program, which allowed me to work on my bachelor’s and master’s degrees simultaneously. It typically takes people six years to earn two degrees, and I was able to finish in four and a half years.

Starting a career in journalism isn’t the easiest thing to do, but I feel like I’m well on my way because of my classes and the connections I’ve made with professors. I truly admire and respect all of my professors. They are so talented and have taught me so much.

What activities and organizations have you been involved with during your time here? Which of those has meant the most to you and why?

During my sophomore year, I joined The Hofstra Chronicle as an assistant news editor and worked my way up to news editor. The following year I joined the Long Island Advocate as the community features editor. These organizations have meant the most to me because they allowed me to do what I love and helped me connect with amazing people. Some of the students I’ve met through The Chronicle I know will be among my lifelong friends.

Both publications gave me experiences I never would have had in a classroom setting. I learned what it means to be an editor and how to do my own layouts. I got a taste of what it’s like to work in a newsroom. The long hours and late nights were full of hard work and dedication, but they were worth every second and every bit of stress.

Have you done any internships or research projects while you've been here? If so, can you just explain the work that you've done and how it's benefited your studies?

Professor Scott Brinton invited me to be a research assistant on a project he was working on with a few other professors. The project focused on determining whether the communities surrounding Hofstra are “news deserts” – areas where issues important to local residents aren’t being covered. Working on this project opened my eyes to how journalism can better serve its audiences.

I also worked with Professor Brinton as a graduate assistant for the Long Island Advocate. Beyond giving students a chance to report stories and accumulate clips, the Advocate publishes stories that reporters at big news organizations may skip over. Professor Brinton is the executive editor and has worked so hard to make the Advocate what it is today. Many of the professional experiences and opportunities I’ve had at Hofstra I owe to him, and I’m very grateful.

While you’ve been a student here at Hofstra, you experienced great loss with the passing of your mother. What would be your advice for other students experiencing loss?

My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer after the first semester of my junior year. It was the hardest thing I had to go through. I didn’t leave my house for a month because she was immunocompromised, and it was during the COVID outbreak.

At some point I shared with Professor Brinton what was happening in my life, and he was very supportive. After a year, my mother’s cancer progressed, and she passed away. I had to share this with my other professors because I needed to take an incomplete in some of their classes. I will never forget the kindness they all showed me when I suffered the most terrible loss in my life.

The friends I’ve made at Hofstra have become like family. When you go through something like that, you learn who people truly are, and Hofstra has some of the greatest people I’ve ever met.

My advice for students experiencing loss is to keep going. In many ways, I feel like a stronger person for what I went through. Now everything I do is in my mother’s honor, and I know that she would have been so proud of my accomplishments and the person that I've become.

What are your long-term goals? What kind of stories most interest you and do you hope to cover? Do you have a dream outlet you'd like to work for?

My goals are constantly changing. At first, I wanted to get a job at a local news organization immediately after graduation. Then I took a magazine production class and considered working at a magazine. Part of me still wants to do those things, and I probably will eventually. After the Israel-Hamas war began, I applied to volunteer in Israel for a few months. I know what it’s like to lose someone important to you, and I want to help as much as I can. I feel the same way about the stories I hope to write: I want the words I put out to mean something to people and help create positive change.

I’m not sure that I have a dream outlet that I want to write for, but I will always strive for my work to have an impact. As journalists, we don’t expect to be thanked for our work, but when someone is appreciative of your efforts to bring attention to an event or issue, you know that you’ve accomplished something special, and it’s very gratifying.

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