Kori Vernon
Editor’s Note: This issue spotlights a Pickerington High School North graduate that goes to New York University. She is also an editorial intern at CityScene Media Group
When the time came for Pickerington native Tatyana Tandanpolie to choose a college, she knew she wanted to move somewhere she could live a fast-paced life. So, naturally, she chose New York University in New York City, the busiest place in the country.
“People there are always moving,” Tandanpolie says. “Everyone is walking with a purpose, like they have a place to be. There’s no dawdling around.”
Living in Pickerington most of her life, there were some obvious challenges when it came to transitioning to not only college, but to New York itself. Tandanpolie chose to study journalism and Africana studies, so her workload was monumental.
“I was tackling hundreds of pages of reading along with a writing class and all my (general education) classes,” she says. “Juggling all those things without the immediate support of my friends and family while trying to figure out where I’m going in the city… it was a lot. But you jump on board really quickly.”
Tandanpolie was accepted into the NYU Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars program, so she was also required to attend a weekly seminar to fulfill certain requirements. It’s safe to say she got what she wished for – a full and busy schedule.
New York is also the ideal city for the line of work she wants to pursue. Journalism is extremely competitive, but Tandanpolie fell in love with it while working on the Pickerington North Polaris Yearbook committee and taking her favorite class, AP language arts.
“I loved the experience (of yearbook) and realized I wanted to get more into the interviewing and reporting aspect process,” she says. “Getting to know my classmates more and the kind of people they are with 10 simple questions really opened my eyes to how quick we are to judge upon first glance.”
“(My parents) have made so many sacrifices being from Liberia and Jamaica. They came here and built this life for me and my siblings, I want to make sure it wasn’t for naught.” - Tatyana Tandapolie
Tandanpolie wants to write in a way that makes real change; uplifting voices of people who feel like they don’t have one. She garners this inspiration from one of her greatest influences, author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, known for works including Between the World and Me and Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet Book 1. Coates gained a wide readership during his time at The Atlantic, where he wrote about social, cultural, and political issues regarding black Americans.
“He takes a subject and uses it to open people’s eyes to a long-term issue that’s been happening to black people for centuries,” Tandanpolie says of her hero. “I want to do a similar thing.”
Tatyana Tandanpolie
Another influence on her writing career was her AP language arts teacher, Ben Baptist. Before his class, she was slightly unmotivated to pursue journalism because of how she viewed the rigid, boring structure of typical essay writing. Baptist switched things up.
“He really opened my eyes to what writing is really like,” Tandanpolie says. “Getting to that level of creativity and fluidity has changed my life – it’s why I’m here today.”
She also made sure to give credit to her parents, her No. 1 inspiration.
“They’ve made so many sacrifices being from Liberia and Jamaica,” she says. “They came here and built this life for me and my siblings, I want to make sure it wasn’t for naught.”
Lucky for us, Tandanpolie is doing well as a CityScene Media Group editorial intern. She’s extremely motivated and works just as her fellow New Yorkers walk – with a purpose.
Desert Island Choices
Movie:
“I don’t really watch movies. There’s not one that I could sit and watch over and over again.”
Food:
“My grandmother’s barbecue ribs all the time – probably wouldn’t survive very long but I’d go out happy.”
Book:
“I want to say a really long book – (Coates’) book, Between the World and Me, I could read over and over again. His writing style is so beautiful. He makes things that are so simple that are a part of black culture sound so regal and real.”
Mallory Arnold is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
