ABOUT Carly
New York University, Junior
I love my college because….
it’s been my dream school since I was 13 years old. It’s regarded as one of the greatest schools in the country due to its incredible professors, challenging curriculums, and the freedom it gives to students to choose their own path of study. I’m a very spontaneous and high energy person and NYU’s location allows me the chance to further my learning with New York City’s resources. The proximity of NYU has also been incredible for internships. I have my resume on file at several incredible publications and know that if they ever decide they want me, I don’t have to leave school. I can simply take the 6 train to their office and start work that day.
I really hate when…
people see you running, but don’t hold the elevator. How rude!
I major in…
Journalistic, Multimedia, and Creative Storytelling (which is basically journalism, creative writing, and marketing) at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, which allows students to design their own course of study. I have always had a passion for storytelling since a very young age, and love nothing more than knowing that my work impacts people, shedding light on social issues, showing my readers, viewers, and listeners a snippet of someone else’s life or what issues affect individuals on the other side of the planet, and even using stories from my personal life to make larger points about society. I think that storytelling has been a constant in our society and is arguably a part of our human nature. By listening to each other, we can learn not only about the world as a whole but also ourselves. My dream job is to be a multimedia journalist, using various mediums like film, social media, audio recordings, and even photography to tell stories.
My hometown is awesome because…
of its incredible diversity. At my high school in Skokie, Illinois, there were 78 languages other than English spoken in the homes of students. I always loved having the opportunity to learn about my classmates’ cultures and traditions through events my school would hold throughout the year. My favorite by far was International Night. After performing the Can-Can with the French Club, I always loved returning to my seat to watch other students perform traditional songs and dances. It was always a great time. Also, due to its system of local government, Skokie is a village, and for quite some time, it held the title of the “World’s Largest Village,” so that’s pretty cool too.
At school, you can find me…
freelance writing for many journalistic outlets, including the university’s radio station, WNYU, and NYU’s chapter of the Odyssey. My primary focus this semester, however, has been on my two internships. The first is as the social media coordinator for the CutShapesWorld brand. Our Instagram page has close to 33k followers, and we receive hundreds of views on our Snapchats. The second of my internships is as the assistant to a very famous YouTuber with close to a million subscribers, where I help create brand partnerships and content for their channel. I also spend a lot of time working on my personal essay blog, where I write about topics ranging from bullying to the environment, to the state of our media. Check it out at Medium.com/@ctwonderland.
The coolest class I’ve taken so far is…
“Lyrics on Lockdown,” which I took during the fall semester of 2015. In this class, we learned about the systemic racism in this country (particularly in relation to the prison system), the criminalization of men of color, and how education can be used to empower oppressed individuals. For our final project, my classmates and I visited Rikers Island, a large prison off of Queens, and held educational sessions with the incarcerated youth, allowing them to relax, have fun, and learn about topics ranging from spoken word poetry to debate. They were all so kind, polite, and eager to learn, that I left the prison heartbroken knowing they ways they are and will be mistreated. Because of this, I also found the Abolish the Box movement. Run by the Incarceration to Education Coalition (IEC), the movement is aimed at getting the Common App and Universities to remove the box asking applicants if they have ever been convicted of a crime from their applications. As the prison system targets individuals of color, low socioeconomic status, and members of the LGBTQAI+ community (just to name a few), to have the box is to be complicit with oppression. Since the class ended, I’ve attended many protests and have covered the issue for the publications I write for.
My favorite late night study snack is definitely…
a raw avocado (weird, I know) and a cup of English breakfast tea with a slice of lemon.
If I had 24 hours left to live, I would…
throw a giant party and invite all of my family and friends, enjoying the time that I have left with them. I would also probably squeeze in a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which over the past two years has become my happy place. Nothing relaxes me more than turning off my phone and wandering through the galleries.
If I could change one thing about the world, it would be…
the way people treat this planet. I consider myself to be an environmentalist and it breaks my heart to see how we’re so carelessly trashing our planet. In less than a century, most of the east coast and many other parts of the word are expected to be underwater – while this seems like a large time frame, there are already climate refugees. By 2050, there is supposed to be more plastic in the ocean than fish, harming both the marine life and the fragile ecosystems they live in. E-Waste (discarded electronics) is becoming a huge problem in places like India, where the soil and water sources are being poisoned by all of the devices. I wish that major organizations would realize that making money is not more important than the environment, and treat our Earth with respect and that our culture of single-use disposable items would shift towards long lasting products. I also wish that more people would take the extra steps to help the earth. They can be as small as bringing home your food containers to rinse and recycle them, or as large as buying an electric car.
I’m going to be Miss COED 2017 because…
I really like what COED stands for. Unlike many other similar organizations, COED captures the fun of college while still respecting women, which I find incredible and I would love to have the chance to represent them.