Andrea Watson earned her master’s degree in journalism from Columbia College Chicago in 2014. We caught up with her when she was still a staff reporter at the Chicago Defender. She is now a reporter for DNAinfo in Chicago.

“Wherever the news is at, that’s where I’m at,” Watson said. “The field of journalism is kind of where you get thrown in and you either sink or swim.”

About the time she spent at Columbia Watson said, “Columbia really prepared me for what I do every single day.”

Watson believes multimedia skills are crucial for journalism students today to be successful in the industry.

For more information about the Journalism Department, visit www.colum.edu/journalism.

You can follow Watson on Twitter at @AndreaVWatson12.