Exploring Pathways in Communication

Cassandra Victor is a Cadet Journalist for Star Media Group. As a BA (Hons) in Communication graduate, she started her career with the StarTrack Graduate Trainee Programme in January 2022. After an insightful two-year training, she received a placement in the company writing Lifestyle features. Cassandra enjoys being in the media as she loves its power to share stories. Combined with her interest in law and politics, she aims to share the right news about what happens around the world. 

Cassandra started her university journey unsure of what she wanted to do in the future, much like many other students. She eventually chose to enrol in BA (Hons) in Communication due to its broad course outline and her general interest in the media industry. The course touched on various aspects of the field of communication, which proved useful to her. “I got to grasp a bit of everything to be an all-rounder,” she reflects. This was particularly helpful during her time in the StarTrack Graduate Trainee Programme, where she had to work in varying departments in the company. 

During her second year, Cassandra faced the challenge of fully online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While she regrets not being able to participate in on-campus activities, she admits that the online presentations helped hone her skills for the workplace. Together with her lecturers and course mates, they adapted by working on online projects. Notably, Cassandra’s cohort organised an online concert, Auxiliary, for their Event Management class under Mr Srikumar. 

“Though I wish I had more on-campus time and experience, I’m grateful to the lecturers for guiding us through the tough times,” Cassandra comments on her experience with her lecturers. While it was difficult to engage with students in a purely online setting, the lecturers were patient and offered guidance in both coursework and coping with the pandemic. Cassandra is particularly thankful to Dr Pauline, Ms Intan, Mr Srikumar, and Ms Vijaya for their support throughout the pandemic. 

Despite spending most of her degree life indoors, Cassandra still has fond memories of her time on campus at Sunway University. She joined the netball club and worked on their design and marketing while staying active in the sport. Her favourite memory is graduation, where her course mates and lecturers reunited in person for the first time after the pandemic. “It felt like time and distance didn’t change our friendship,” she recalls, adding that it was a moment she wants to remember forever. 

When she first stepped into the working world, Cassandra was fearful as she did not have any experience. She is thankful that the group projects, creative portfolio, and teamwork she built during university helped her get through the interview process for the StarTrack Graduate Trainee Programme. Throughout the programme, she had to adapt on the spot to departments she had no background in while discovering her interests within the company. She started the programme with an interest in general news desk journalism but unexpectedly discovered a different interest in writing feature stories. 

“Joining Lifestyle features writing was definitely not something I even saw myself doing in the future,” Cassandra mentions. It was only after spending time writing feature stories in the training programme that she realised it was what she wanted to do. This led to her current position in Star Media Group, writing Lifestyle features as a Cadet Journalist. Now, she is proud to be in this position and sees herself in the company for the long term, doing something enjoyable and exciting all the while.
 

Cassandra Urai Victor
BA (Hons) in Communication
2021