Shreevatsa Nevatia: English with Media Studies BA(Hons) graduate
"Working as a practising reporter, I use the skills I learnt on my degree all the time, but I find them most helpful in the moments that I really need perspective."
For Shreevatsa Nevatia, Falmouth was so much more than just a university. It was a new way of thinking. “I started my studies in New Delhi but it wasn’t quite right for me – I wanted a new environment and a new challenge,” Shreevatsa explains. “Six months into my course the British Education Fair arrived and I found myself looking through prospectuses for a solution.”
“Falmouth’s International Office was very encouraging and the description of their BA in English with Media Studies sounded really exciting,” he continues. “Because I had already started studying in New Delhi I thought it might be too complicated to transfer, but Falmouth was really understanding and helpful. I will always be grateful for the faith they put in me, accepting me onto
the course.”
Coming from the urban spaces of New Delhi, Shreevatsa was nervous about fitting in to life in Falmouth, but his concerns were quickly quashed. “I grew entirely enchanted with places like Gyllyngvase beach and the College gardens at Woodlane,” he explains. “And I made friends who have entirely changed the way I look at things; they’ve really helped me bridge the gap and perceive my nationalistic difference positively.”
Graduating in 2005 and now a successful journalist back in New Delhi, Shreevatsa puts much of his success down to studying in Falmouth. “I remember being told when I started about the course’s transferable skills,” he notes – skills which include researching and writing to tight deadlines, working as part of a team and clearly communicating ideas. “In the 16 months since graduating, working as a practising reporter, I use these skills I learnt on my degree all the time, but I find them most helpful in the moments that I really need perspective.”
As a ‘parachute correspondent’ for the Hindustan Times, Shreevatsa has reported from conflicts where perspective and a level head are a necessity, from Afghanistan to a Red Cross Camp in Beirut, during the Israeli/Hezbollah conflict. “In Beirut I met a woman about to give birth who had been bombed out of her home. It’s often traumatic, but being a journalist helps me meet people and see worlds that would otherwise have remained alien,” he explains.
“I dread to think what my life would have been had I not done the Falmouth degree,” he concludes. “It gave me the mental resources to do what I do, to think progressively. It has benefited my professional and personal life in an invaluable way.”
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