Stories by
By Shala Murray
Tomas Navia, a recent graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When he was 4, his family moved to Ohio. Growing up, Tomas said he “always had an eye on different parts of the world.”
Tomas studied international relations as an undergraduate student at Brown University, but he had a love for reporting international news. Brown does not have a journalism program, so he enrolled in journalism courses and worked at several internships like The Hill in Washington, D.C.
“I’ve always loved writing,” he said. It’s “been one of my staple interests.”
In high school, Tomas began studying Mandarin, a passion that led him to move to Shanghai for nearly two years before graduate school. During his time in China, Tomas worked as an education consultant, helping Chinese high school students apply to American universities. To gain more experience in journalism, Tomas attended Columbia and focused on production and videography skills. While there, he covered the opioid crisis in New York City.
Tomas, now 25, was excited when he was accepted into The New York Times Student Journalism Institute.
Working closely with New York Times editors is “going to be a really amazing experience,” he said.
With a new appreciation for video production, Tomas aspires to become an executive producer of his own program or series.
Photo by Lynda M. Gonzalez/NYT Institute