Janhvi Bhojwani, CCT 2019

Undergraduate institution and major: Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Culture and Politics

Area of focus in CCT: Media and Politics. I also completed the Graduate Certificate in Journalism and Digital Media.

What did you do before CCT? In the time between college and CCT, I received a Fulbright Hays scholarship to take advanced-level Indonesian language classes and conduct a field study in Indonesia. The research I worked on in this program really piqued my interest in studying misinformation, and during my time at CCT I was able to take several classes and work on research projects focusing on the misinformation and fact-checking landscape. 

What activities did you participate in during CCT? On campus, I was a GradGov Senator representing the CCT program in my first year. I was also a Global Cities Fellow for the Georgetown Global Cities Initiative. Since I went to Georgetown for my undergraduate studies and had been heavily involved with on-campus activities already, during my time at CCT, some of my most rewarding experiences were through doing internships off-campus. While I was a CCT student, I got the opportunity to intern at CNBC, NPR, AFP, and NBC News.

Why did you choose CCT? I was lucky enough to have stumbled upon a CCT class as an undergrad, and through that class, I saw a very positive and supportive community I wanted to be a part of and continue my studies. I also did not have a lot of opportunities during undergrad to study something creative, and so I really wanted a program where I could explore my interests without feeling constrained. 

What surprised you about CCT? What surprised me most about CCT was the people I met as well as being able to actually study what I was interested in. Everyone came from different backgrounds and experiences, and we all had different goals and career paths in mind post-CCT. This fostered a very unique and collaborative environment, and it’s been so cool to see what everyone has ended up doing after CCT and how the things we learn in the classroom are applied in daily life. I really liked that the curriculum was so flexible that it allowed me to create my own path. I was able to easily join classes across other programs and build out my own classes which allowed me to follow my interests instead of having to take classes for a specific requirement. 

What are you doing now? I am now a Washington, DC based reporter for NBC News’ Social Newsgathering team where I’m highly trained in verifying data and elements and am using specialized techniques to search and discover information on social media platforms. I conduct interviews and write articles, and I also gather elements and sources for reporting on broadcast and digital platforms.