As senior year reaches its halfway mark, I’ve been putting a lot of thought into what the next step is for me after graduation from Penn State. I have been getting the question “what are your plans for after graduation?” a lot lately, which makes sense but it still manages to stress me out every time I’m asked. I have been realizing more and more that my end goal is to find a way to use the skills I’ve been cultivating these past four years to make an impact for communities of color not just in the United States but around the world.

I am passionate about social change and want to use my creative abilities to ensure that the messages that are being put out by major media companies are representative of the communities who constantly support and add revenue to the conglamorates. My goal is to one day work  for a media company that values putting effort into change. In this day and age, giving back and chnaging to be more diverse and representative shouldn’t be an afterthought, it needs to be intentional in everyway.

One company that i have witness take this intentional approach is WarnerMedia. WarnerMedia has taken an active approach in changing how equity and inclusion operates across all their brands. The article “‘The Power of Stories,’ WarnerMedia rethinks Equity & Inclusion” was an insight into the changes that have occured across the media company in efforts to create a more diverse and welcoming. They are honing in on 4 areas :workforce (including workforce composition and business resource groups for employees), content (including scripted TV, films, news, and animation), programs (including creative development and pipeline programs), community (including industry and local outreach partnerships and initiatives). I believe that these four areas of the company have the potnetial of creating the biggest impact as well. I think that there is definitley room for improvement across all those areas.

According to the article, WarnerMedia has improved its percentages in both on-screen and behind-the-camera representation for both Warner Bros. Pictures and WarnerMedia U.S. These changes are huge steps in a positive direction towards the continuation of building a more inclusive workspace within the company.