Sandy Ibrahim

Name: Sandy Ibrahim

Hometown: Woodbridge, NJ

Year: Junior

Major: Broadcast journalism with minors in French and Political Science

Clubs/Activities: At school I’ve been a news anchor, I write for the school papers, and I do radio news once a week. I’m also a student ambassador.

Fun Fact: I’m in love with foreign food. Whenever I go out to eat, I’ll try a new dish from different countries.

Quote: “Kill them with kindness.”

What’s your favorite thing about your department’s program?

I love that the Communication department is pretty small so it gives students more chances to be involved and develop relationships with professors. And, speaking of professors, I admire their work, and a couple of them are my role models whom I’ve become very close to. I don’t know where I’d be without their support. They also come from professional backgrounds with the best advice for us students.

You’ve held internships with some pretty high-profile news groups. How did the interviews for these internships go?

I got very lucky, and I didn’t have a typical interview that I worried about for weeks, but everyone will experience a different type of process. For Channel 9 and Fox 5, I had a quick five-minute interview just highlighting my goals and I got hired a couple of hours later. When I went on to NBC, because of my experience, I got asked one question then got hired on the spot. I was just at the right place at the right times.

What is one important thing you’ve come to learn from these internships?

I got the amazing opportunity to intern at three news stations and because of my passion, being aggressive led me to this point in my life. I learned that no matter where you go in this business, being aggressive will help you and proves to employers that you are serious and ready to be a part of their team. They like students who chase what they want themselves without having someone hold their hand along the way.

Any words of advice for future interns?

 My advice for future interns is to take any negativity from others as motivation to do better and prove them wrong. If someone said I couldn’t do it, I would just reply “watch me.” I also recommend being as involved in school as much as possible to expand your knowledge because employers will notice that. If you don’t like writing, write for the paper anyway because nowadays, you have to know how to do everything on your own in this field. It helps to learn another language because that is a bonus especially if it’s one that not many in this field speak.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

I hope to gain a small position right after graduation at a station I interned for – preferably for NBC since I got my foot in the door there at one of the biggest networks. My dream is to be a foreign correspondent because of my passion for world politics. So in five years, I hope to be using my language skills to start off in world news. With my ability to speak Arabic, I’m going to use that to market myself like I am doing right now. It would be interesting to get a reporter job somewhere outside the East Coast like most reporters start off – but, hey, NYC would be the best!