Noorulbari Afghanmal
“If you have a place in your heart for your job, the job market will have a place for you. Now that I have gone through the program, I have learned about so many other potential career areas within media and journalism that I am starting to like.”
Noorulbari Afghanmal | M.A. Journalism and Mass Communication
Current job: Educational Assistant at Akron Public Schools
Graduate student Noorulbari Afghanmal was born in Afghanistan and had a passion for journalism well before he decided to attend the School of Media and Journalism to pursue his Master of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication.
“At a young age, I started commenting on politics and social issues via my blog and social media. I received positive feedback and broad readership that encouraged me to write more regularly,” Afghanmal said.
In 2014, Afghanmal began his career in journalism by starting a weekly column, “The Turning Point,” which eventually got picked up by a national newspaper. This then led him to work as a strategic communicator for several USAID (U.S. Agency of International Development) programs.
“As a result of my job, I received multiple threats from the insurgents. In 2017, I was granted a Special Immigrant Visa to the United States,” Afghanmal said. “I hold a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from India. After resettling in Ohio, I thought I should continue my studies and keep connected with my passion -- media and journalism. So, I thought Kent State was my best option, and I still think it is.”
M.A. Journalism and Mass Communication CCI Graduate Programs
English is Afghanmal’s fourth language, so he’s constantly practicing his writing skills. But he’s proud of the progress he’s made.
“Over the past almost two years, I have become more confident of myself as a writer,” he said.
Coming to the School of Media and Journalism has allowed Afghanmal to affirm his passion for journalism
“If you have a place in your heart for your job, the job market will have a place for you,” Afghanmal said. “Now that I have gone through the program, I have learned about so many other potential career areas within media and journalism that I am starting to like.”
At the end of the day, Afghanmal is proud of his career path and finds that, in it, he can “give a voice to the voiceless.”
When reflecting on the most important things learned in his time in grad school, Afghanmal struggled to pick just one, noting the high quality of all aspects of his education here.
“There are too many things I learned in grad school that I will be using for the rest of my life. The program enriched my knowledge and understanding of both the theoretical and practical aspects of media and journalism,” Afghanmal said. “The research skills I learned will help me not only in producing scholarly research but also in writing in-depth journalistic pieces. I am now a far better researcher, reporter, editor than I was two years ago.”