Journalism junior Cecilia Garzella became interested in audio storytelling in middle school, but she didn’t listen to a typical science, news, or pop culture podcast. Instead, her first podcast explored a murder case that she now acknowledges was above her paygrade.
“My cousins told me to listen to ‘Serial,’” Garzella said. “As a middle schooler, I had no right to be listening to that, but I was hooked on it. It was super cool. I thought audio was really intimate, and I loved it from there.”
Years later, now as a UT student, Garzella had the chance to help produce podcasts like “Serial” through her work as an intern at The Drag.
“I never even thought I would get to be involved in [The Drag], honestly,” Garzella said. “I don’t know why. It just seemed so distant. But then I took one of Katey [Psencik Outka’s] classes last spring, and she was encouraging all of us to apply. So I was like, let me just give it a shot.”
Garzella focused on script writing over the course of her internship by assisting with upcoming podcasts “Darkness” and “Crooked Power.” She also helped with digital marketing by working on The Drag’s newsletter.
“Even though I’m totally remote this summer, I can still get a good sense of how Katey and [Robert] Quigley and all the different teams fine-edit all the scripts and everything,” Garzella said. “That’s definitely something I’ve taken away, [as well as] just kind of helping rephrase things to make it more clear for audio.”
As a result of her internship with The Drag, Garzella said she is now considering pursuing audio journalism professionally.
“I can definitely see myself leaning in that direction,” Garzella said. “I can see my place there.”
