Program: INT Undergraduate with minors in French and Philosophy
Year of graduation: 1998
Concentration: Space, Power, Gender and Identity
How did the International Studies Program impact you?
My INT studies at DePaul enabled a curiosity about people around me and from all over the world that continues today. As a journalist, lessons on how race and prejudice develops in societies and how politics and policies affect people all around the world provided a foundation from which I could ask better questions of my subjects. Who are they? Where did they come from? Why do they think the way they do? The focus reading and writing is a tremendous help to my career. Thanks to Professor Heidi Nast for pushing me to write more clearly and concisely.
What are some of your major accomplishments since graduating from INT?
I’ve worked at The Washington Post for ten years, earning two Emmy awards and countless other awards from the White House News Photographers Association and the National Press Photographers Association. My work has contributed to many Edward R. Murrow Awards, a Peabody Award and a Scripps Howard Foundation award. I was named Editor of the Year in 2007 by the White House News Photographers Association. Since starting my freelance career in 2010, I’ve worked for PBS Frontline and The NewsHour, The New York Times, National Geographic and I’ve produced two short documentaries – one of which screened at the International REEL Film Festival in Chicago.
What are you doing now?
I’m a freelance video journalist and documentary filmmaker living in Washington, DC. I spent two months in Cairo in 2012 studying Arabic and documenting the revolution in Tahrir Square.
Is there anything you’d like to say to current or prospective INT students?
What you learn in INT studies is invaluable to understanding how the world works and how history, policies and politics affect people. With the shrinking of the world, those skills are increasingly relevant. Learning to write clearly and concisely is invaluable and will help you in any field you go into. After all, communication is fundamental to success.