A former student and media and communications major at SUNY OW and Catalyst writer, Karina Kovac is finding success after college.
Discussing why she chose media and communications as her major at SUNY Old Westbury, Kovac said that she did so because there were “so many options” to “communicate the language of [print and images] in a more detailed way.” She also cited her work with professors John Friedman, Laura Chipley, and Karl Grossman.
Kovac, who graduated last May, viewed her time at Old Westbury positively, saying that she didn’t take her education seriously until she began at OW where she became a dedicated student, which helped make her into the journalist she eventually became. “Having all these great minds surrounding you and being able to bounce ideas off of them was really…a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said. ”It really transformed me, because it’s where I honed my craft, and where I was just really able to expand my knowledge.”
Talking about how she came into her current position at the LI Herald, where she reports on a wide range of subjects, she said that she was stuck at a cross-roads after having left a previous job. “It was soul-crushing, and I felt like I lost myself along the way. This is not how I imagined myself to be.” Three months later, however, while looking for jobs, she found an open job position at none other than the LI Herald.
After she submitted a job application, the LI Herald soon responded saying that they were interested in an interview. After an interview with five different people, she got a response just a couple days later, telling her that she had received the position.
“They said, ‘You got the job, when do you want to start?’”
“ I’m like, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow,’” Kovac said smiling. “Within five days, I was able to get that job…It was luck, it was just pure luck.”
At the LI Herald, Kovac especially enjoys two things: the incredible people she has met and the different feeling of every week at the job. “It really goes by quickly, because you’re getting a story, the deadline is due, and then, you’re already on to the next,” she said.
