I'll soon be graduating from Wayne State University (WSU) with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Near Eastern Studies. I am also this year's (2012) Journalism Graduate of the Year.
As a member of WSU's Journalism Institute for Media Diversity, I've
done several internships. I was the School of Medicine reporter for
WSU's independent student newspaper, The South End. It was one of the
"dreaded" beats where I spent many hours in laboratories, hospital halls
and academic offices. As the largest single campus medical school in
the nation, WSU's School of Medicine works like a community and I
immersed myself into it to find stories.
Then, I worked for the Council on American-Islamic Relations
(CAIR-MI) in the summer of '10 as their media outreach intern. I wrote for two blogs - Muslims in Motion
and The Muslim Watch. I met
leaders of Michigan's Muslim community and reported on local Muslim
efforts to promote community service and engage high school-aged youth.
Interning there also gave me an up-close look of the effect of media
when sensitive matters become the focus of news coverage.
In the fall of '10, I joined WDET 101.9 FM -
Detroit Public Radio as a news intern. I was exposed to hard deadlines, time sensitive
stories, critical issues in Detroit and all the organized chaos that
comes with radio news. I definitely learned a lot about the techniques
of broadcast writing and reporting and how to use specific radio
equipment - recorders, on-air mixing boards and electronic equipment
racks.
Next, I interned for Canton Patch, an online community news platform, for nine months where I learned the techniques of online journalism and new media – online posting, editing and shooting photo/video while reporting on the latest news in Canton. It was especially interesting because I explored and reported from my hometown of nearly 15 years.
I am now ending my senior year at WSU with a communications internship at ACCESS, a social service agency in Dearborn. I was also recently accepted into The Phi Beta Kappa Society, the nation's oldest academic honor society.