In October 2019, Wagner alumna Meaghan Darwish sat down to interview leading actor Jeremy Irons, actress Regina King, and director/producer Nicole Kassell of the hit new HBO superhero dramatic series Watchmen for TV Insider, the on-line younger sister of TV Guide Magazine. The show Watchmen has received praise from many critics for its complex plotting of an alternative historical reality and satire of the superhero genre that turns present-day social issues of race, gender, and American identity inside out. Here is one of those interviews:
Barely more than two years after graduating with a degree in English in 2017, how does a young woman from the small town of Nashua, New Hampshire where she worked every summer as a cashier for the local Demoulas supermarket, get such a cool job as staff writer/producer for TV Insider? These days, she’s interviewing such world-famous actors like Jeremy Irons and rap stars like 50 Cent. Meaghan talked about her story with her English professors.
Her personal journey is inspiring. In some ways it all started with a little push from her mother to get some experience and involve herself in the college community by joining the staff of the college newspaper.
As the entertainment editor for The Wagnerian, while learning the fundamentals of journalist ethics, fact-checking, and layout design from Professor Claire Regan, she enjoyed the opportunity to find stories about things her fellow students might not be aware of, such as the amazing variety at New York film festivals. At the same time, she also wrote for the online college blogsite The Odyssey, where she could find her own voice pitching pieces and interacting virtually with young writers at other colleges.
With that experience, getting ready for her senior year, she began looking for a good internship, finding some help with her résumé from Wagner alum, and sending out applications in response to countless job-ads. One of these job-ads was for the social media intern for TV Insider that she saw on the Ed2010 recruiting website. Once a week senior year, she took the ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan to work. However, senior year turned out to be a lot harder than she expected. Around Thanksgiving, her mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer. After graduating, Meaghan moved back home to look for a full-time job while spending time with her father and brother during such a difficult emotional time.
While at home, she kept in touch with her supervisor and colleagues at TV Insider, sometimes freelancing as a writer. Then, one day, when she and her grandmother were visiting New York together close to Christmas, she stopped by the old office to see how people were doing. As it so happened, by chance, a position was opening up. Not long after, while she and her grandmother were waiting for the bus back up to Boston, she got the call offering her the job. Now she spends her days pitching stories, writing recaps of TV shows, sending out press releases, and interviewing some of the most famous stars in America at Rockefeller Center, one of the first places in New York she remembers visiting as a child.
Meaghan will tell you that she’s naturally a very shy person, but she will also point out that Wagner College can open a lot of doors for its students, so long as you say “yes” to the opportunities as they come and remember to take advantage of the many alumni events, faculty, and support the school has to offer. She’s grateful to her mother for motivating her to do this, and wishes she could be there in person to see the woman that her daughter has become.