Interview by Basma Humadi, Assistant Lifestyle Editor
As a part of Women’s History Month, Fourth Estate wanted to celebrate the wonderful leading ladies of Student Media. As of now, all Student Media organizations are run by women. We thought it was pretty historic – especially since representation of women in leadership positions is sparse, according to Pew Research Center. For this feature, we went around and got the inside scoop about their role and how they got to where they are now. Here’s our feature from Fourth Estate:
Fareeha Rehman and Sosan Malik, Co-Editor-in-Chief, Fourth Estate
Courtesy of Fareeha Rehman
Fareeha Rehman:
How did you become a part of IVE and what made you want to join?
Writing for the college newspaper felt like the best way to improve my journalism skills, so I sought out the opportunity about two years ago. Luckily, it has been exactly the experience I needed in undergrad to confidently pursue a media career.
What’s it like having to make decisions all the time!?
It’s kind of thrilling to have a space to curate not only the paper but the type of work environment we have. The immense responsibility can be overwhelming at times, but to see what we’ve done with Fourth Estate is so rewarding.
What’s something unexpected you think you found out about yourself by being in a leadership position?
Introverts can take charge of a room and be outspoken too.
What are you most proud of during your time here?
When our stories get shared by President Angel Cabrera and other departments around Mason, when I notice a writer improved, when I see our newsroom bustling and buzzing with the dedicated staff we have welcomed in, all of these instances make me so proud of what we’ve accomplished so far.
Courtesy of Sosan Malik
Sosan Malik:
How did you become a part of IVE and what made you want to join?
I was a transfer student from Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and was in search of an exciting extracurricular activity on campus. I recall specifically searching media organizations since I thought it would complement my degree in media production and criticism. My journey began Aug of 2016 when I was appointed the Managing Editor position for the student-run newspaper Fourth Estate. I was very nervous because I was not sure at the time what the job required and thought I would not succeed being a part of this particular group since I was a media production and criticism concentration and by no means a journalist. Soon after I became the Co-Editor-in-Chief alongside Co-Editor-in-Chief, Fareeha Rehman. We work very well together and see eye to eye on many subjects. (She always reminds me that we are both pieces.)
What’s it like having to make decisions all the time!?
In my first semester with Fourth Estate, I remember a lot of the staff was new to myself and I was very disgruntled by the fact that no one was taking control. This led me to get advice from my director on what protocols to take and over time I learned to take charge! It’s still sometimes uncomfortable to be in charge of peers you have a class with but I try my best to stay professional while working in the office and delivering my concerns with staff members in private. When you’re in a leadership position, you have to be decisive and remind yourself that it’s just a quality like any other and that you CAN do it with the help and advice from mentors, advisors, and directors.
What’s something unexpected you think you found out about yourself by being in a leadership position?
One, I never thought I would be in a leadership position and will never forget this experience. Second, my goal after college is to work my way up to another leadership position because I truly do enjoy working with others and have those I am leading turn to me for help as I still do with my higher up colleagues.
What are you most proud of during your time here?
Completely remodeling the Fourth Estate look, building a team, restless production days with people who are motivated and driven to create a smashing issue every week. The whole experience really is what I am most proud of. The opportunity to constantly face different situations and learning how to handle it in a professional manner. I really owe it to the advisors and really everyone in student media for my joyous experience.
It’s really cool having direct experience with the newspaper and taking courses such as media policy or media ethics and because you take into consideration that you are framing what you want readers to think about. As a main source of news, we have to do our due diligence in thinking of our demographics best interest when publishing issues each week.
I want the next batch of students joining any student media group to keep all the media groups flourishing and seeing the progression throughout time. It would be so awesome to see the changes in a few years’ time. I hope that one day I can come back and support those driven students in some way shape or form as did my team, directors and the people surrounding me every week in the office.
