Lucy chose City for its reputation as an excellent place to study Journalism
Why did you choose to study at City, University of London?
I wanted to study at City because I thought it to be the best place for journalism, I wasn't wrong. City's reputation proceeded itself, before even visiting the campus I knew I wanted to go there. It seemed that every journalism idol I had come across had some connection to the institution. When I eventually visited the university, the lecturers were so welcoming and the department was so professional and had an air of excitement; I wanted to be in those radio studios crafting a package to a tight deadline. I knew City was going to push me, I chose it for that reason.
What do you enjoy most about your course?
I love the array of classes offered and the willingness of the lecturers to help you. Everyone is eager to see you succeed, so much so that they will do just about anything to help you. I wanted to study Russian as a language for so long and my lecturers made that happen. At City I could try conflict reporting and photojournalism, I could really get a wide sense of journalism and feel it out before being let out into the big wide world.
What has been your favourite module and why?
My favourite module was humanitarian reporting which I took in my second year. I learnt so much in this class that has stuck with me, I’ve then been able to use this knowledge in other areas of university and my life. Professor Suzanne Franks taught with such a passion that the course material came alive and I just wanted to learn more and more. I refer back to this class regularly, this class taught me to analyse everything and opened my eyes to areas of journalism I previously did not know existed.
What has been a highlight of your course so far?
I love City but I believe that the highlight of my course was having the opportunity to study at the University of North Carolina. City’s professors were so supportive of me making the move to the U.S for the year and made the transition as easy as possible. Having the chance to study at one of the best journalism schools in the U.S was incredible, I was able to try out different types of journalism and expand my network of friends and professional contacts. I adored every second of it and would recommend anyone to do a year exchange, I came back ready to work, graduate and achieve my very best. City and therefore UNC opened so many doors for me that I had never imagined, if I could do it all again, I would.
If you could give one piece of advice to a prospective City Journalism student, what would it be?
My advice would be to do a sandwich year or exchange year. I felt so much more confident having had a year away in a foreign place. It was another challenge I had to overcome and got so much joy out of doing it. It was an invaluable experience, a year of my life that changed me as a person and the way I looked at journalism.
What do you plan to do after you graduate?
I’ve got the travelling bug, I am thinking of moving to Berlin to either complete a Masters in international journalism or start working my way up in a newsroom. My end goal is to end up in Russia as a respected freelance journalist or as a hired journalist, maybe for Amnesty International or at an international broadcaster. I’m not setting myself any limits, if it’s one thing that City has taught me is that if I put my mind to it, I can do it.
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