I accidentally fell into journalism. I transferred to a new high school my sophomore year, and I had room for one elective. The school newspaper happened to fit into my schedule. To be honest, I didn’t think much of it at the beginning. Being the new kid myself, I volunteered to write an article for the September edition about new students at the school — to my surprise, the first article I ever wrote became the front page story of the year’s first issue. So, I guess my ego made me fall in love with journalism. 

 

When I started NYU, I immediately beelined for the student paper’s news desk. I spent a couple of years covering the breaking news both on campus and in the city, eventually becoming assistant managing editor. Then, my sophomore year, I took a profile writing class. It was the first time I would only ever write features, and the fact that I enjoyed it kind of freaked me out. My professor told me to apply to the ASME program, and while I fully expected a rejection letter come March, I applied anyway. (I would later find out that literally everybody in ASME has imposter syndrome — quote me on it.) I legitimately fell out of my chair when Nina Fortuna’s acceptance email popped up in my inbox. Then, I called my mom.

 

The ASME internship has been a whirlwind. I had the chance to intern at Inc. Magazine, and anyone who knows me can tell you that I never saw business journalism in my future. It was a hard adjustment — I’ve never done service journalism (or written for a magazine, for that matter). I’m a 21-year-old journalism student who just figured out how to sign up for direct deposit. What service could I possibly provide to entrepreneurs?

 

Luckily, my editor was kind and helpful and wanted me to learn, and I adapted. I also learned that business journalism is nowhere near dry. I’ve written about podcasts, Jimmy Choo, marijuana, YouTubers and meditation. I’ve learned how to write in Inc.’s style. More than that, I’ve learned the incredible importance of any publication’s research and fact-checking department, and after fact-checking every single Inc. 500 company, I’ve learned that they are probably the most resilient team in any newsroom.

 

Interning at Inc. was wonderful. Being an ASME intern was kind of insane. Once a week, I hopped on a train in the middle of the day to meet with editors from publications I’d been reading since I was a kid. I made an absolute fool of myself at the New Yorker by making my friends take pictures of me in front of the magazine’s sign, and I was dumbstruck when we accidentally ran into David Remnick.

 

ASME brought more than just reporters and editors from the industry into my life. (Full disclosure: I’m about to get super sappy and lame with you, so if you’ve made it this far — hi, Mom! — and we simply don’t know each other like that, feel free to stop here.) ASME brought me some of my best friends — people I could spend late nights on my apartment’s roof with to talk about journalism, the impending doom of graduation, music, the Democratic debates, and my Pisces Venus. I’ve never voluntarily spent so much time good old Third Avenue North Residence Hall. We’ve been dreading leaving each other come August 9, and I know the city will feel a little emptier without my friends. Like Winnie the Pooh, I feel so lucky to have something that’s so hard to say goodbye to.

 

TL;DR — I’m a rising senior at NYU studying journalism and public policy. I love magazines (surprise, surprise) and my dog, JJ. ASME forced me to admit that maybe I’m not just a hard news girl, and my dream is to convince someone to pay me to write about education, politics, true crime or all of the above. As for the future? TKTK.