WSN photographer Emily Sorkin follows nine NYU students who may be the future of their chosen industries.
October 23, 2022
Arthur Caplan is a sophomore at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, majoring in recorded music. He founded his own business, Arthur Caplan Beats, to produce and sell music, and is currently a content producer at BandLab Technologies. He’s also a singer-songwriter with roughly 150,000 streams on Spotify alone, including collaborations with up-and-coming artists like Noah in the Open.
“Music is an expression of your emotional state at that time, almost like a time capsule,” Caplan said. “When I listen to old songs that I made, my headspace is back in that time.”
Ginger Semko is a senior at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development who majors in Media, Culture, and Communication and politics. She’s currently the president of NYU Mock Trial and interned at the Office of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
“Law is part of our everyday lives,” Semko said. “It’s very hard to understand, and that causes people who do understand to take advantage of communities who don’t have the resources to learn about the law.”
Aaron Peterson is a junior at the College of Arts and Science majoring in math and computer science. He co-founded Alluder, a platform that helps film students easily annotate movies and shows they’re watching for class. The company was recently featured at the NYU Entrepreneurs Festival.
“I want this to exist for myself, as a consumer, as someone watching a lot of film and TV who loves the medium and was kind of frustrated by the fact that this did not exist and no one else was building it,” Peterson said. “Seeing the opportunity of doing it and all the positive consequences of it existing really made us make Alluder a thing.”
Natalia Palacino Camargo is a senior majoring in studio art with a concentration in graphic design and video and mixed media arts. One of her installations is currently featured in an art exhibition in the Czech Republic as a result of an artist residency program she participated in earlier this semester. She is also a philosophy major, and curatorial assistant for Elijah Wheat Showroom, an art collective and gallery focusing on emerging and mid-career artists. Outside of her studio practice, she also interns as a graphic designer for the LGBTQ+ Center at NYU.
“Art started out as a way of expression but in the last few years, it’s been more of a statement to me,” Camargo said. “How can I explore things I struggle with or bigger themes that I’ve found important?”
Jacqueline LeKachman is a senior at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development majoring in English Education. She is a senior tutor at the NYU Writing Center, and mentors New York City high school students in programs run by the Steinhardt school and the nonprofit Breakthrough New York.
“The students are incredible people,” LeKachman said. “I’m student-teaching at a high school in Manhattan and I’m blown away every day by how awesome their ideas are. A lot of them think, ‘I can’t write,’ or ‘I don’t feel comfortable writing,’ but then you talk to them and help them see that they actually have fantastic ideas — they just need help getting it on the page.”
Edward Franco is a sophomore at the College of Arts and Science majoring in journalism and Social and Cultural Analysis. This summer, he worked as a production intern at WKMG News 6, the local CBS affiliate in Orlando, Florida. Currently, he is an intern at NBC Nightly News and WSN’s Video Director. He has also been recognized by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Suncoast Chapter for his video storytelling in South Florida.
“Telling stories is a key aspect and sharing the truth has been important in all of our lives,” Franco said. “It’s been important for democracy and for society to succeed. It’s more important now than ever. I believe that journalism is a key aspect to that.”
Luis Figueroa Caunedo is a sophomore at the Tisch School of the Arts, where he majors in film and television. He has directed six short films: “Traffic Man,” “The Catch,” “Primo,” “12.mp4,” “Hey man, please do the dishes” and “Why’s Everybody Acting Funny?”
“I can’t be happy if I wait,” Figueroa said. “I just have to do it. I may be limiting myself, but it’s the only way I’ve ever felt.”
Maanika Gupta is a sophomore at the College of Arts & Science and currently majors in politics. She has interned in the office of New York state assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou.
“Politics felt like the only thing I was passionate about,” Gupta said. “Politics is the way that you translate your personal beliefs as a direct reflection of your environment, your family, your heritage, your religion, your everything.”
Joseph Yusufov is a junior at the College of Arts & Science majoring in computer science and economics. He has worked as a software engineer intern at Fidelity Investments, system engineer intern at DonateStock, and has served as the Vice President of Member Development at Sigma Phi Epsilon.
“If you finish a puzzle and get a euphoric feeling, that’s how I feel after I finish a coding project,” Yusufov said.
Disclaimer: Natalia Palacino Carmago and Edward Franco are current members of WSN’s editorial staff.
Contact Emily Sorkin and Camila Ceballos at [email protected].
Developed for web by Camila Ceballos
