My name is Mika and I’m a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill majoring in Journalism and Creative Writing, while minoring in Japanese. I am graduating this May with Highest Honors in Journalism.

I’ve worked for The Daily Tar Heel since my first semester at university, exploring a variety of roles such as Arts & Culture reporter, video producer and audience engagement senior staffer. Most recently, I paved the way for a new role at the DTH focusing on TikTok and Instagram Reel production — as I believe that vertical video is key to engaging younger audiences with journalism.

Throughout my college career, I’ve also worked as a writing coach at the UNC Writing Center, a communications intern at Duke Graduate School and as a Dow Jones Digital Media Intern at the Detroit Free Press.

I have an interest in journalism that concerns the environment, literature and cultural issues. I hope to use my writing to introduce people to new perspectives and issues.