How SRL Alum Liam Wady found clarity in choosing both college and career

Jan 7, 2026

By: Anthony Payne

Liam Wady has always been interested in storytelling, but thought of himself as strictly a writer. When he was a sophomore at the Oakland Military Institute, his English teacher recognized his writing skills and suggested he join her broadcast journalism class. Initially, he was intimidated working behind the camera, and editing felt something akin to piloting a spaceship. 

“I never really thought of myself as being good with cameras or editing,” he recalls. “I was mainly just into writing. I was a little intimidated. I was like, ‘okay, I’ll do it, but I won’t be good at it.’”

Leaving his comfort zone was daunting, but after jumping in at the encouragement of his teacher, Liam grew to appreciate the extra layer of storytelling that video production offers. In early 2022, he produced a short documentary on how schools in his hometown were closing, inciting protests because they mainly served students of color or those with disabilities. He submitted this story as part of his application for the 2022 Summer Academy in Arizona, where his group produced a story on goat yoga. 

“I feel like working with SRL was kind of the gateway to get me out of my comfort zone,” he reflects. “I really loved getting to meet a bunch of new people, and I really enjoyed getting to hear what they had to say. And the more I got hands-on with the technical side, I started to realize, ‘Oh, I actually enjoy this. Maybe I’m not that bad at this as I thought.’”

Liam cites his experience at the 2022 Summer Academy as pivotal for his career path, and recalls really connecting with his mentor, Youth Media Producer Becky Wandel. He fell in love with video journalism’s ability to platform marginalized groups, making the issues that matter to them feel more immediate. Journalism solidified as his primary interest, and as he got more experience, it began to feel more attainable. Soon it was time to decide where to go to college. 

What Liam wanted most was a new beginning. Though there were many things that he enjoyed about military school, Liam recognized that he wanted to get out of what had become a routine and rigid environment. He considered staying in the Bay Area, but after his experience at the SRL Summer Academy, he wanted to continue meeting new kinds of people, different from the peers he’d known his whole life. 

Liam did a lot of research on different schools, eventually opting to leave the Bay Area and attend the University of Southern California. He knew he wanted to study journalism but wasn’t locked in on any specialization. He appreciated that USC’s journalism major combines every medium and allows students to explore and learn what they like and don’t like by doing. 

“We’re able to jump around from each medium to figure out which one fits best, and they have a curriculum that’s more hands-on,” Liam says. “I feel like I walked into my dorm the first day of freshman year and was like, ‘Okay, I’m just going to take advantage of all these opportunities. Most schools don’t have this. I need to just take advantage of what is here for me right now.”

Now in his junior year, Liam has made the most of his time in college by trying everything. A jack–of-all-trades, Liam has executive produced live shows, hosted a weekly podcast, and writes long-form features for SCene, a student life and culture magazine. 

“It was really cool getting to experience all those things so I can start to narrow down what specifically I want to do,” he says.

He’s learned that while he enjoys broadcast, his real interest is in writing and in radio. He hopes to become a political and entertainment reporter, writing at the intersection of politics and pop culture. 

As a student and a journalist, Liam cares more about “being” rather than “seeming.” He’s proud of the risks he’s taken to try new things, and that he prioritized growing his skills instead of seeming like someone who always knows what to do. 

“The best advice I’ve heard is that when you feel nervous about something that’s coming up – a job, a date, a class – that is a good thing,” offers Liam. “Don’t let your nerves scare you away from a good opportunity. “If I let my nerves take advantage of me then there’s a lot of stuff that I would have never done throughout my 20 years being on this planet.”