Before trying to break into broadcast journalism graduate wants to explore the world
Role model is Rutgers alumna Natalie Morales, co-anchor of Today Show

By Stephanie Perez

On a busy commuter train back to New Brunswick from her internship at NBC Studios in New York City, Amytza Maskati found herself at a crossroads.

On one side was the potential of a job in broadcast journalism and, on the other, a world of possibilities outside of journalism. After a great deal of soul searching, the 21-year-old decided that she needed to spend time living her life before reporting on how other people live theirs.

“Getting an internship at 30 Rockefeller Plaza was both very surreal and a reality check,” Maskati said. “It taught me that this kind of life isn’t a piece of cake. It might be 10 years before I get a prominent position as an on-air reporter, if I am lucky. I wasn’t sure I was ready to make that kind of commitment.”

During her time at Rutgers Maskati has had a string of communications internships, from advertising and public relations to radio production and promotion. She even spent some time in sales at a cruise line. But her dream was to get an internship at a major network in her senior year. With the help of Steve Miller, a senior media coordinator at the School of Communication, Information and Library Studies, she secured a spring internship at the talent recruitment and development department of NBC News.

Soon she moved over to other areas of the network’s news division, where she did everything from answering the phone for executives to helping coordinate travel for news talent. Maskati also had the chance to meet prominent on-air reporters, including Natalie Morales, co-anchor and national correspondent for NBC’s Today Show and a Rutgers alumna.

“Natalie was great,” Maskati said. “She made a real effort to get to know us on a personal level. She talked a lot about her time at Rutgers and gave me a lot of great advice.

In fact, it was a discussion with Morales that led Maskati on a different path. “She told me if there are other things I was interested in, this was my chance to explore,” Maskati said. It was Morales’s personal story that helped convince Maskati that she could always come back to journalism later.

Maskati isn’t exactly sure what she wants to tackle next. Growing up with parents of different religions and cultures – her mother is a Puerto Rican Catholic and her father is an Indian Muslim – she has always been fascinated with different cultures and languages. Maskati, who majored in both, journalism and Spanish interpretation and translation, would love to do something with her language skills, especially after having a wonderful experience abroad in Spain during her junior year.

Even with all of these options, and the recent acceptance of an offer from Teach For America, Maskati isn’t ready to rule out journalism. “Natalie is my inspiration,” explaining that Morales worked in finance right after college before going for the big lights. “Sometimes people need more time to get on the right road.”

This uncertainty might frighten some graduates, but not Maskati. She is willing to move forward and see what happens. “You can’t be afraid of change, especially if it is something that can open your eyes to new experiences. “

Her prediction? “My hope is that I’ll go somewhere else for a little while and discover something I am really passionate about that will fuel my reporting,” she said.