By: Gabriela Chavez We began the week at the USC Annenberg Youth Academy (AYA), learning about the importance of media literacy. Before joining the program, I considered media primarily as a means of transmitting information. However, I learned that media literacy involves the ability to interpret and critically evaluate messages across various media platforms. Throughout …
Category Archives: Reflections2026
The World Cares
I never expected a program I found on a whim to have such a profound impact on my passion for journalism. After finding this program, I felt very underqualified to attend it. I felt that there may have been candidates that were far more experienced than me or even smarter than me. Those feelings of …
A Cause for Contentment
The days leading up to the USC program brought not only an impatient temperament but also a seemingly non-ephemeral feeling I could not properly name. I would pass the campus often — usually on my commute to various events — and ponder what my future could hold at Annenberg. On my first day, I marveled …
The Importance of Media Literacy when analyzing Graphic Designs
By: Charli Padilla Over my first week at the Annenberg Youth Academy, specifically in the Communications 101 course, I learned many beneficial strategies on how to have a heightened level of civic media literacy when it comes to analyzing a series of graphic designs. This photo shows a set of notes that student Charli Padilla …
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Representation in Media
During my first week at AYA in COMM101, Rogelio introduced the idea that media messages are intentionally constructed and encouraged us to think about the different elements that make up media. We talked about civic media, representation, and how images, colors, and symbols can all communicate messages to an audience. At first, I thought the …
COMM 101 at AYA: Finding Voice, Community, and a Critical Developed Understanding of Observing the World
Stepping into COMM 101 at AYA for the first time felt like I had stepped into a completely new world where communication was seen as not merely about “talking or writing”, but more about the deepened understanding of how meaning, power, and how our community are created through media. From the start, I realized that …
Decoding the Screen: Reclaiming Independent Thought Through Critical Media Literacy
In a world saturated by information, communication acts as the foundational bedrock of human interaction and survival. Formally defined, communication is a “systemic process in which people interact with and through symbols to create and interpret meaning.” However, as media has grown to dominate modern society, the way we process these symbols has become increasingly …
Once You See It, You Can’t Unsee It
Starting off the summer strong by spending it in USC Annenberg’s Youth Academy, Monday through Thursday, 8:30 to 1:30, on one of the most recognizable media and journalism campuses in the country. There’s something so prodigious about getting to experience this and being able to make friends easily here. You walk in the Annenberg building …
Engaging as Yourself in Civic Life
By Diamond Rangel Reyes On the first day of AYA, we had lunch together as a class at USC’s Village Dining Hall. I expected awkwardness and silence, the kind where you can hear forks and knives clinking while everyone avoids eye contact. But to my surprise, conversation started easily. People opened up, jokes were shared, …
Stuart Vs Laswell
By Amy Rodriguez Thin, tall, slender trees hid Walis Annenberg when I first stepped foot onto the campus of USC. The air was hot, sticky, and full of anticipation waiting to be discovered. Before me was a massive, colossal building, which had me hooked onto the hope that all my questions and soon to be …
Communicating Change 