After five years at AUC, Vereena Bishoy will graduate this fall with a double major in multimedia journalism and psychology. She is currently editor-in-chief of the The Caravan, AUC’s student-run newspaper, where she has worked for four years, producing audio content, taking photos and eventually writing stories.

Earlier this year, Bishoy won the prestigious Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards in the Radio Feature category for her audio feature “Maggie Michael’s Road from Cairo to Yemen to a Pulitzer.”

Despite coming to campus each week for classes this fall, Bishoy has already begun to feel nostalgia for her years at AUC.

In high school, I had no idea who I was or what I wanted to be. While many of my friends were traveling abroad to continue their education, I didn’t feel ready for that. At the same time, I didn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to receive the kind of education I might have gotten abroad. My parents and I believed that AUC offered that balance, allowing me to experience a high-quality education similar to studying abroad while still staying close to home.

I decided on my majors because I love telling stories. I consider myself a curious person who loves to learn new things. Most of all, I love hearing people’s stories. When someone trusts me with their story and allows me to portray them the way a painter paints, I feel it is an honor, and it gets my heart skipping beats. My multimedia and journalism major has presented me with countless opportunities to go out there, search for stories and tell them through diverse mediums. Each is an adventure in itself.

So many people at AUC led me to become the person I am today. My professors and peers pushed me to develop my skills across the board. They are my blessings; each and every one of them has left an imprint through what they taught me. Whenever I feel the fire inside me toward this path start to dim, all I need is to be in their presence and hear them talk about this field. Their passion fuels me, and I am reminded of how important this field and this art is.

Overall, AUC has been a journey of exploration. I’ve enjoyed my time here, and it feels bittersweet now that it’s coming to an end. Part of me is excited to take what I’ve learned here and put it into practice, but at the same time, I know I’m going to miss AUC a lot.

My advice for freshmen is to make use of the resources that you have at AUC, especially the people. They are the ones who are going to set the trajectory to where you are. And if you’re lost and don’t know where to go, who you want to be or what you want to do, AUC is a great place to discover yourself and try out different things until you hone the skills that will put you on the right path.