{"id":4802,"date":"2020-05-11T10:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T14:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/?p=4802"},"modified":"2020-05-11T14:10:32","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T18:10:32","slug":"colleen-digney-years-in-the-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/2020\/05\/11\/colleen-digney-years-in-the-making\/","title":{"rendered":"Colleen Digney \u2014\u00a0Years In The Making"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Colleen
Colleen Digney, a senior in the journalism program, won this year\u2019s Pulitzer Center Fellowship grant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before Colleen Digney began asking questions, she\u2019d spend hours watching someone else answer them. If she liked a celebrity, she\u2019d watch them in an interview. Then another. Soon she fell down a rabbit hole, playing interviews on a loop until her attention shifted. \u201cI started focusing on how the interviewer asked the question,\u201d she says. \u201cWhat kind of question. Then I started realizing I wasn\u2019t even watching the celebrity anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout high school Digney attended live tapings, where she simultaneously watched and analyzed the show \u2014  asking, “Is it exactly how it’s like on TV?” or “What do they cut out?” Late-night talk shows kept her informed and entertained. Interviews were like talking to people and hearing from others, which she always knew she liked to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaybe I never really had the opportunity to do that as much in [my hometown],\u201d she says. \u201cI kind of also wanted to do it as a career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After living in New York City since her freshman year of college, the COVID-19 pandemic sent Digney back to Long Island, where she grew up. She says in her small hometown, days become routine and faces become familiar. So she seized her chance to leave after high school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Hunter College she found stories everywhere. She learned about diverse backgrounds and experiences by covering students she met. \u201cNot knocking Long Island, but I don\u2019t think I would have the same experience if I was [reporting] here,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coming up \u2014 international reporting<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Digney\u2019s interest in journalism began at home, where she was fixated on television and her computer screen for years. As her undergraduate studies come to an end this month, she is preparing for her biggest project yet: international reporting in Vietnam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digney is this year\u2019s recipient of the Pulitzer Center\u2019s student reporting fellowship. She will receive a grant to report on an unreported or under-reported international story, and has been paired with a mentor for guidance. (Read more in our related feature, “Animated Short Inspires Pulitzer Grant Winning Proposal<\/a>“).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNever did I think I\u2019d be planning a trip to Vietnam by myself,\u201d she says. \u201cBut here I am, excited to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digney scrambled to find an idea before she landed on a story. She asked roommates, friends, family and her uncle, who has traveled the world, for any inkling. Then she remembered an animated video a coworker had made two years ago, which explained that children were often the victims of landmines. The topic spurred hours of research and searches on Google Maps before Digney sent in her proposal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She will report on one organization that clears landmines and develops the land for the community. The trip will be a culmination of her time at Hunter College and everything she learned as a journalist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI definitely put in a lot of time and effort learning the skills, so I\u2019m excited to finally practice them in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\u2014 Colleen Digney, on her reporting trip to Vietnam<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, it is like a story I\u2019d be doing at Hunter,\u201d she says. \u201cI\u2019m still going to be talking to sources, I\u2019m still going to be finding the best places to take a picture. … I definitely put in a lot of time and effort learning the skills, so I\u2019m excited to finally practice them in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Submitting the first application took hours. Gaining the courage to try took years. Digney had wanted to apply for the fellowship since her freshman year of college. Until her senior year, a lack of confidence kept her from doing so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never imagined myself winning and I assumed I didn’t have the talent or skill for it, so I always held back,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learning not to doubt herself<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Although her classmates and professors have always been encouraging of Digney\u2019s work, Digney says she found herself comparing herself to others. She began to worry about getting a job, especially since other students in her field had internship experience. One day during Digney\u2019s junior year, a mentor told her she was falling behind. She went home and nearly cried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That summer she took an internship at Weill Cornell Medicine as a social media specialist. Her demure attitude towards sharing her work caught her manager\u2019s attention. Digney would submit a project and say that writing was not her strong point. He had no critiques on her writing or work, but said her attitude needed to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe told me, \u2018I was the exact same way as you, always doubting myself. But if you\u2019re always doubting yourself, everyone will doubt you too,\u2019 \u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat was the first time I was like, I could see myself doing this in the future.\u201d<\/p>\u2014 Digney, on advice from a mentor<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

His advice cemented itself and gave Digney confidence. \u201cThat was the first time I was like, I could see myself doing this in the future,\u201d she says. Sharing her published work on websites and socials felt gratifying. She created a Halloween-themed animation and Weill Cornell shared it on Twitter. Her internship turned into a job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This spring Digney began a social media internship on Late Night with Seth Meyers. Her fascination with behind-the-scenes production of television has never left her. Working on the show \u201chas been the ultimate full-circle moment,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Nothing to lose’<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Although the pandemic has put Digney\u2019s plans after graduation on hold, she is open to the many possibilities and is no longer as unsure of herself as she was just a year or two ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m interested in storytelling in all different forms,\u201d she says. \u201cWhether that be written stories, a video, with photos, with animations \u2014 I kind of like to explore it all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digney says reporting in Vietnam still feels surreal. Given the current circumstances there is no scheduled date, but she hopes to travel this year. In the meantime, the support from her school and family keeps her optimistic. With her photograph heading the Film and Media Studies website and the news circulating within her classes, Digney\u2019s win is a celebration for the journalism department as well. \u201cI’m not used to being the one to answer questions,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now that Digney feels confident and prepared to take on such a large project as the Pulitzer fellowship, she knows that she\u2019d have regretted not applying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI saw the flyer and said, \u2018You know what, I\u2019ve got nothing to lose,\u2019 \u201d she says. \u201cIt’s my last shot, I might as well give it a try.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Janet Hernandez is a senior at Hunter College studying media and English. She enjoys writing and live music, and hopes to pursue a career in music journalism.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How graduating senior Colleen Digney gained skills, confidence and an international reporting grant. A profile of a Journalism Program success story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":4407,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10,18,14],"tags":[268,64],"class_list":["post-4802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-internships","category-fellowships-scholarships","category-journalism-program-news","category-student-work","tag-grant","tag-pulitzer-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4802"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4843,"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4802\/revisions\/4843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4407"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fm.hunter.cuny.edu\/journalism\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}