Putting Faces to the Names…

Editor-In-Chief

A Senior in the Division of Cinema and Media Studies with a minor in Russian Language and Culture, Micah is the founder and editor-in-chief of Spotlight and a self-described ‘Floridian New Yorker’. He enjoys Soviet cinema, the band The Mountain Goats, and classical Russian literature. He is also a member of ART/EMIS, KXSC Radio, and the Trojan Filmmakers' Club. He dreams of one day inventing time travel.

Faculty Advisor, Editor

Lan Duong is Associate Professor in Cinema and Media Studies at USC. Dr. Duong's book, Transnational Vietnamese Cinemas and the Archives of Memory, examines Vietnamese cinema from its inception to the present day. She also serves as coeditor for the UC Press book series on Critical Refugee Studies and its website.

Executive Editor

Sophia is a senior Cinema and Media Studies major Screenwriting minor from Campbell, CA, interested in symbolism, animation, and the slasher subgenre. She spends her free time making unnecessarily complex playlists and waiting for Halloween.

Social Media Manager, Staff Writer

RJ Edrolin is a Cinema and Media Studies major with a minor in Law and Social Justice. She is the Marketing Chair for Spotlight and a Staff Writer. In addition to Spotlight, RJ is also involved with the Prison Education Project and CAMS Fest. In her free time, she enjoys reading cringey romance books, trying to be funny with her letterboxd reviews (but failing), and being delusional.

Secretary, Editor

Gina Phu is a Junior (2025) CAMS major with a double minor in Entertainment Industry and ITP Computer Programming! She is an editor and Secretary for Spotlight! Her hobbies include video games, guitar, art, and like any other film major consuming way too much television and movies. She hopes that everyone enjoys the journal and appreciates all the hard work the staff and many other students put into it! :)

Publishing Chair

Rhian is a Senior majoring in Cinema and Media Studies. She is the Publishing Chair for Spotlight. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, Rhian's multicultural lens contributes to her unique perspectives and analysis of film. She's an avid Ari Aster and Sofia Coppola fan, but nothing brings her more joy than an animated television series or films like Rick and Morty.

Writer / Publishing Committee

Avana Wang is a visual artist and a first-generation immigrant from Beijing, China. She is a Cinema & Media Studies major at the University of Southern California with a minor in Digital Studies. Avana is passionate about observing, documenting, and reflecting on details that add beauty and meaning to shared human experiences. She also aims to help amplify AAPI voices and immigrant experiences through her creative endeavors, whether it be through design, photography, videography, writing, or fine arts.

Contributing Editor

Emma is a senior studying Cinema and Media Studies with minors in Intermedia Arts and Screenwriting. Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, her passions include film/tv (duh!) and sports. At USC, she is also involved in Dear Asian Youth, USC Rec Sports, and Trojan Vision’s live sports commentary show, The Watercooler.

Staff Writer / Publishing Committee

Colin is a sophomore majoring in Film and Television Production. He enjoys watching, writing, and analyzing stories about incomprehensible people doing incomprehensible things. At the same time, he hopes to explore the bad habits and unspoken realities of being alive through horror and comedy. One day, he wants to live in a world where everything is made of cheese and humans act like animals.

Editor

Ben is a Sophomore in the Cinema and Media Studies division with minors in Italian and Entertainment Industry. While he loves watching movies, he also has a deep appreciation for reading books, doing crossword puzzles, and long walks on the beach.

Staff Writer / Editor (Contributing Editor)

Amy is a junior Economics and International Relations major studying at the University of Southern California. She is a climate journalist at the Annenberg Media Newsroom and a Global Policy Institute editorial fellow. She is passionate about studying geopolitics and peacekeeping strategies, climate resiliency and remediation pathways, and excited about the future of AI and machine learning. During a 10-hour flight, she can be found engrossed in contemporary poetry, jotting in her notes app, and catching up on the latest issues of Ms. Magazine and the MIT Tech Review.

Editor

Ella is a sophomore majoring in Cinema and Media Studies. She enjoys creating and consuming media that concerns superheroes, detectives, criminals, morally questionable gay people, and all the ways that these intersect. She has a black cat named Bastet.

Publishing Committee

Evarist Bego is a junior at USC studying Business of Cinematic Arts. He was originally born and raised in Albania but moved to LA after graduating high school to make movies. He is born to produce content, from interning at Scripted TV for NBCUniversal to shooting his own movies with friends to producing Trojan Vision live shows (catch The SCoop at 10 AM every Thursday), nothing brings him more joy than getting to work on fun and exciting stuff!!

Staff Writer

All glory to God! Jackson Miller likes to write things in notebooks sometimes. When he’s not doing that, you might find him outside folding the corners of old books, groaning about the Oxford comma or listening to Noah Kahan. Originally from Illinois, he is currently a first-year student at USC pursuing a BA in Narrative Studies. You can find him on Instagram @7acksonmiller.

Publishing Committee / PR Committee

A film and television production student from New Zealand, Rebecca carries a passion for showcasing diverse stories and perspectives through the lens of cinema. Dedicated to amplifying the voices of fellow students, Rebecca contributes to Spotlight in the publishing and PR departments.

Staff Writer / PR Committee

Quinn is a Cinema and Media Studies major (2027) with a Screenwriting minor. She is interested in realism, surrealism, comedy, and feminist film theory. Quinn enjoys memoirs, cooking shows, journaling, and music by Troye Sivan.

Contributing Editor / Publishing Committee

Bridget is a junior majoring in Art History and Comparative Literature. She is most drawn to films with beautiful landscapes and mundane happenings. In her free time, she enjoys baking, walking around the city, and taking photos for her food instagram.

Editor

Editor
Duncan E. Geissler is a sophomore SCA student in the CAMS department. Born and raised in northern Virginia, he is currently minoring in Folklore & Popular Culture and Classical Perspectives at USC. He loves sharing his awful opinions on the worst Letterboxd account known to man.

Editor / PR Committee

Edith is a freshman majoring in Cinema and Media Studies and Philosophy. Originally from Beijing, Edith enjoys the cinema of Mia Hansen-Løve and Christian Petzold, Anaïs Nin's diaries and metaphors.

Contributing Editor

Enoch Lai is a filmmaker and writer from Hong Kong, pursuing a degree in Cinema and Media Studies and a minor degree in Religion. He loves arthouse films, horror, and period films. His work mostly dwells somewhere between odd characters in spiritual crisis and an obsession with the confusing human experience. He is dedicated to finding an artistic understanding between his home and the rest of the world and hopes to bring people together through cinema in these trying times.

Contributing Editor

Editor

Alexis is a sophomore double-majoring in Cinema and Media Studies and Narrative Studies. She loves to give films 5/5 stars on Letterboxd, opening up blind boxes, playing Stardew Valley for hours at a time, and editing! She enjoys both cinema and writing as a means of storytelling, and aims to combine the two through film analysis and studies.

Writer

Amani is a freshman majoring in Cinema and Media Studies. She was born in India but has since lived in Japan, the UAE, and Hungary. She loves to cover different film festivals and movie premieres. In her free time, Amani loves to read and go to concerts.

Staff Writer

Angela is a sophomore majoring in CAMS with a minor in Business. She is a staff writer at Spotlight! In addition to Spotlight, Angela is a member of the Armenian Students Association where she shares her culture and passion with others in the community. She is working on amplifying the voices of the Armenian culture through her writing and filmmaking. She can't wait to work with the Spotlight team for the new semester!

Publishing Committee

Ella is a sophomore majoring in Cinema and Media Studies. She was born and raised in New York, and loves to watch rom-coms and psychological thrillers.

Publishing Committee

Izzy is a freshman at USC studying Business of Cinematic Arts. She is from Maine and loves New England and the east coast as well as her new home in LA on the west coast.Sheis a huge fan of nature, reading, and writing. She is a playwright, a screenwriter, and a filmmaker. During a night in, you may find her cozied up watching a rom-com, or hidden in a dark room watching a psychological thriller, she enjoys both equally!

Contributing Editor

Joseph Green is a first-year Cinema and Media Studies major with a minor in Entertainment Industry. He grew up in Studio City, California, and is currently a Contributing Editor on Spotlight. He is the producer and creator behind multiple short films at JAL Entertainment; he is also a member of the USC Asian Pacific Cinema Association’s PA Program and New Media Program CLOSEUP. In his free time, he enjoys writing, hiking, going to the movie theater, and spending time with family and friends.

PR Committee

Hailing from Northern Colorado, Julia Apodaca is a sophomore studying Music Industry and pursuing a minor in Sports Business and Management. She is passionate about all things entertainment. As a self-proclaimed movie critic and sports analyst Julia loves finding connections within music, sports, and all things in between.

Publishing Committee

Lexie Kendall is a sophomore at the University of Southern California, majoring in Public Relations and Advertising with a minor in the Entertainment Industry. Passionate about the intersection of media, storytelling, and branding, she is particularly interested in advertising and PR within the entertainment and fashion industries. Lexie has experience in merchandising, media planning, and content creation, and she hopes to build a career that bridges creativity with strategic communication.

Editor/PR Committee

Lucia is a second-year Cinema and Media Studies major from Wooster, OH, via Walla Walla, WA, interested in film festivals and Latino screen culture. In addition to Spotlight, Lucia is the Coordinator of USC's Latine Film and Media Association's Film Festival and a member of the Performing Arts Committee. She spends her weekends walking dogs at Westside German Shepherd Rescue, going on unnecessarily slow runs, and baking vegan sweet treats.

Editor / Publishing Committee

Maizy Zenger is a Cinema and Media Studies major in the class of 2026 from Corpus Christi, Texas. She is passionate about the process of making an artistic vision become reality, and hopes to pursue a career in the Art Department and an additional fascination with cinematography.

Editor/Publishing Committee

Staff Writer

Writer

In 2020, Pau decided to follow their dream in the Academic field of cinema. Pau has been part of the film industry in Spain and Latin America since 2009, where they produced films such as "10,000 km", "Anchor and Hope," and "La Camarista," which represented Mexico in the Academy Awards in 2019. Currently, Pau is back to writing about the film industry for Spanish media outlets while they are pursuing an academic career in Film and Media Studies at the University of Southern California. Pau is a Voyager Scholar by The Obama Foundation and a Norman Topping Scholar by USC.

Editor

Vrinda Das is a junior studying Cinema & Media studies. She is interested in South Asian art & film, film noir, and early Soviet agit prop media. She spends most of her time thinking about her dog Trotsky and how good of a boy he is.