Part of what makes the New York Film Academy’s Broadcast Journalism School one of the leading programs in its field is the hands-on approach to its curriculum. Last Tuesday, May 31, 2016 two Broadcast Journalism students, Alisa Rajkitkul and Urvashi Barua, headed south from New York City to Washington D.C. to cover a press conference at the White House and other Washington D.C. media events as credentialed journalists.
The events in focus were President Barack Obama’s meeting with the NCAA Champion Villanova University Men’s Basketball team and President Obama at the Arlington Cemetery to pay his respects on Memorial Day.
The two esteemed students didn’t just randomly show up. After all, this is the White House. They were required to submit an application which was vetted by the Secret Service and, on Thursday evening, they were notified that they could attend the afternoon press conference in the Palm Room of the White House.
It wasn’t always a glamorous assignment. In fact, the bus they were traveling on from New York to Washington broke down in the middle of the night. The two students and the other passengers had to stand on the side of road waiting for another bus. But they got to Washington, and they got their story!
“This opportunity wasn’t a matter of luck,” said NYFA Broadcast Journalism Chair Bill Einreinhofer. “Rather, it is an example of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right skills.”
This level of high profile coverage attests to the quality of a NYFA education, as well as the tenacity and determination of our students.
Congratulations to two outstanding students, and now accomplished Broadcast Journalists!