Girls Write Now Mentees Pitch Their Media Projects

Recapping the Fall 2025 Perspectives on Media Journey

In our Fall 2025 Cycle, mentors and mentees in the Perspectives on Media Journey flexed their creative skills in video editing, podcasting, and graphic design as they created original multimedia work.

Each mentee worked on developing a project that they were personally passionate about, from a podcast that teaches English to non-native speakers to a video series about the love lives of artists. Our young creatives also had the opportunity to work on the art of pitching with NBCU employees at the “Refining Your Elevator Pitch” virtual event.

As with all Girls Write Now Journeys, mentees also received personalized, one-to-one support from their mentors. This unique part of the program allows mentees to get feedback over the course of three months, resulting in projects that are deeply considered and highly impactful.

“The Girls Write Now Perspectives on Media Journey with mentor Ilana Kaplan was pivotal—workshops on multi-platform storytelling helped me structure carousels (blouse, skirt, shoes, accessories breakdowns) differently from long-form cultural essays. I learned that subculture coverage demands cultural guardrails: context before aesthetics, rejecting exploitation,” said mentee Hao Nguyen.

The Journey culminated in a Pitchfest where all mentees got to share their hard work and sketch out visions for their projects’ future.

“Girls Write Now strengthened my confidence as both a writer and collaborator. It taught me how to articulate my ideas clearly, receive feedback with openness, and advocate for my creative voice in professional spaces,” said mentee Doreen Otaru, who developed a cultural criticism podcast called Speaking Between The Lines.