“What I noticed from my very first class at USC is that everyone in the program—students and professors alike—really looks out for each other. If you mention something in class, someone will say, ‘Hey, I know someone who does that. Let me connect you with them.’ It’s a very collaborative and supportive environment. Overall, my experience has been incredibly positive.”
DMM graduate Sydney Lake with her golden retriever Lulu. Photo credit: Allison Dash Photography
DMM graduates are reaching new altitudes. For Sydney Lake, that would be approximately 30,000 feet in the air. Sydney and her golden retriever, Lulu, flew 3,400 miles from New York to London’s Biggin Hill Airport as part of a story covering Bark Air that Lake worked on for Fortune magazine, where she was recently promoted to Associate Editor.
“I knew I would need to stretch my digital media skills by not only reporting and writing the story, but also providing compelling visuals and video interviews,” she said. “Throughout the flight, I felt more confident knowing what would visually captivate readers and how that would translate to video and social media content.”
Lake credits the Online Master of Digital Media Management (DMM) program for instilling in her the confidence to undertake a multimedia piece and for providing her with a comprehensive understanding of the media landscape.
“The program really equipped me with the knowledge of how stories can be told in various formats and how different audiences interact with these formats,” she explained.
“For instance, in longer-term class projects such as the Capstone, we had to create social assets and a sizzle reel video, which taught me the importance of meeting readers and viewers where they are.”
“Not everyone is going to sit down and read a 3,000-word feature, but they might engage with a compelling video or a series of captivating images,” she added.
Before embarking on her DMM master’s journey, Lake honed her writing and reporting skills as an undergraduate at the University of Richmond, graduating in 2019 with a degree in journalism and leadership studies. Following her graduation, she undertook a series of internships, including one at CQ Roll Call in Washington, D.C., and served as an assistant editor at Virginia Business before joining Fortune as a higher education writer in 2021. She also previously covered housing and real estate at Fortune before transitioning to the publication’s global news desk covering general business news and trending topics.
One of the more memorable trends she covered involved couples using wedding registries to fund their first home purchase.
“At first glance, it may seem like a ‘softer’ story, but it’s quite the opposite. People are financially stretched so thin that they’re turning to friends and family for help achieving the American Dream.”
The story garnered significant reader feedback and culminated with real-estate marketplace Zillow and wedding planning tech company The Knot partnering to conduct a study that validated the trend Lake had reported on.
As she developed her skills in her new role, Lake explored a diverse range of subjects, from lifestyle and finance to technology. Then one day, she had the chance to write about something she loves even more than maybe writing itself—dogs. What began as a news story covering the launch of Bark Air, “the world’s first air travel experience designed specifically for dogs,” turned into something much more.
“My editor loved the idea so much he encouraged me to ask the airline to try it out,” she exclaimed.
Ask and you shall receive, and just like that, Lake and Lulu were off to London (see video below). This experience, along with her growing exposure to the inner workings of a large news organization like Fortune, sparked a curiosity in Lake regarding the broader business of media.
“Being a part of a larger news organization and seeing all of the different ways that we tell stories and interact with audiences, and how much we were growing, I realized there is more to journalism and media than just being a reporter,” she explained.
Lake’s ambition grew to include working on strategy and collaborating across various teams. She now envisions herself in roles aligned with newsroom leadership or even hybrid roles that stretched her deliverables beyond writing.
“I wanted to step into more, writing but also editing [roles], and working on edit strategy, and working with our video and social teams,” she said.
Recognizing that her undergraduate degree in traditional print journalism didn’t fully prepare her for these new ambitions, Lake sought a graduate program that offered a comprehensive approach.
“I knew I didn’t have the business chops I needed to get on the career path I wanted,” she admitted. This led her to the Online Master of Digital Media Management program, which provided the strategic insights and business acumen she needed.
“While there are other media management programs out there, I knew I wanted something that would stretch me beyond what I learned in my undergraduate degree,” she said. “USC’s program undoubtedly did that—and proved to me I could develop an idea from research to launch.”
Another key attraction of the DMM program was its flexibility, allowing her to continue her career while pursuing her education.
“I knew I wanted to have the flexibility to continue working. I just didn’t really want to take a career break and then get back into it,” she explained.
While Lake was initially apprehensive about her experience as an online student, those doubts were quickly put to rest.
“Having graduated in 2019 from undergrad, I had never done online schooling before. However, I was consistently impressed with the caliber of the program and how organized it was.”
The program’s capstone project, compared to other programs’ traditional thesis projects, was another appealing feature. Lake appreciated the hands-on nature of the capstone project, which allowed her to apply her learning in a practical way.
“I felt like I was going to still have some learning gaps with some of the other programs that I was looking at, and some of them are still more print-based,” she remarked.
“If I wanted to continue doing research, a thesis path makes sense for me, but I felt like in the long term, especially for digital media, USC’s program was going to give me everything I was looking for,” she said.
For her own capstone, she chose to focus on something she truly loves—dogs, of course! Initially uncertain about her project topic, inspiration struck Lake while she was working on an assignment conducting market research for another DMM class.
“I was working on this project where we had to select a digital media platform and analyze it from start to finish—looking at the audience, their engagement, marketing strategies, and all of that. I picked Rover, a dog walking and sitting app, which I use myself. My professors encouraged me, saying, ‘Hey, you should run with this for your capstone. Clearly, you’re passionate about it.’ That feedback helped me develop the idea for The Paw Print, an online publication dedicated to providing dog parents with insights on dog health and wellness.”
Lake felt especially encouraged and supported by Professor Anika Jackson, a leader in the digital media field and co-host of the MEDIASCAPE podcast, a key component of the DMM program that connects students with industry trailblazers.
“Anika Jackson was a consistent mentor to me throughout the program. I had the pleasure of taking her classes a few times and consistently felt supported by her both professionally and personally. She is also the faculty member who really encouraged me to pursue a capstone idea I was truly passionate about.”
It’s no surprise that the capstone class was Lake’s favorite. In addition to the support she received from faculty, she was thrilled to be part of a cohort of creative professionals bringing their own ideas to life. The community aspect of the online cohort, who now embody the Trojan network, was evident to Lake from the very moment her journey in the program began.
“What I noticed from my very first class at USC is that everyone in the program—students and professors alike—really looks out for each other. If you mention something in class, someone will say, ‘Hey, I know someone who does that. Let me connect you with them.’ It’s a very collaborative and supportive environment. Overall, my experience has been incredibly positive.”
Sydney Lake graduated from the DMM program in August 2024. She was recently promoted from Real Estate Reporter to Associate Editor at Fortune magazine.
Learn more about the Online Master of Science in Digital Media Management program.