Natalie Zalewski

Communications

Natalie Zalewski is a recipient of the 2020 Chicagoland Transfer Award Scholarship. If you are a transfer student and would like to apply for this award, click here to learn more.

What made you choose Columbia?

From the moment I stepped foot on campus during open house when I was a junior in high school, I had my heart set on attending Columbia. From the faculty and students to the campus itself, everything about Columbia has always given off a warm, welcoming, and accepting atmosphere. I believed from the start that this is a school that genuinely wants to help students succeed and reach their full potential, both inside and outside of the classroom. 

What do you plan on studying during your time here?

I am currently planning on majoring in Communications. I’m mainly interested in the journalism/media aspect of the Communications field, so I will also be working towards a minor in Journalism. 

What are your career goals at this time?

I aspire to become a music/ entertainment journalist. My lifelong connection to music and my writing abilities are the two aspects of who I am that have always come to me naturally. No matter what I may be feeling, I can always turn to music or writing, and it makes me feel comfortable. Combining the two together and making a career out of it is my ultimate goal! I would love to someday work for a music magazine or website such as Rolling Stone, NPR, Pitchfork, etc. and write song/album reviews.

What do you most look forward to about learning and creating in Chicago?

I am most looking forward to being surrounded by other creatives and learning from them! Chicago is a beautifully diverse city filled with people who have endless stories to tell, and here at Columbia, the students are able to creatively share those stories in a variety of ways. I can’t wait to meet other students and share our different experiences, perspectives, creative processes, and more!

How do you see your artistic practice engaging with contemporary events?

With everything currently going on in our world, from a global pandemic to the BLM movement, Communications and Journalism is essential. It is important to communicate information effectively and accurately on these major topics and others like them so that the public is fully aware of what is going on. I’m looking forward to this upcoming fall semester and learning more on how to apply these principles to my own work as these major events continue to progress.