At the end of the winter, the traditional Admission Caravan took the road. The first to hear about the studies at the SAJ and about the opportunities opening before the School’s graduates were students of Comrat State University. Then, the Caravan reached Alecu Russo State University in Balti.

In Comrat, over 50 future graduates from different departments of the University came to meet with the team of the School of Advanced Journalism. Discussions began with an overview of the school. Young people, who are in their final year of studies, learned about courses that are held daily at the School, about the trainers and the curriculum, as well as about enrolment conditions. The School’s Director Sorina Stefarta explained how and why the SAJ focuses primarily on practical work. “Our students work in conditions of a real editorial office, and our aim is to prepare all-in-one journalists, who can find jobs at a top TV channel, a radio station, a newspaper, or, why not, a news portal immediately after graduating from our School,” she said.

To encourage young students from Comrat who want to do journalism so that they seize the opportunity the SAJ offers, two of the SAJ graduates also came to the meeting. Petru Garciu entered the SAJ in 2015, having already graduated from the Agricultural Science Department of Comrat State University, and now he is a reporter at the www.gagauzmedia.md news portal in Comrat. He told students that there is not much theory at the School and that trainers are professional journalists and media experts who teach practical ways of how to write news, film and edit a TV report or how to make a radio interview. He also mentioned that there is no language barrier at the SAJ. “Although it was a little hard at first, I was always helped by colleagues and encouraged by trainers,” Petru Garciu said.

Another participant at the meeting was Raisa Razmerita, 2013 graduate, who went to the SAJ after studying economy at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova... Today, she is co-founder and reporter of the “People and Kilometers” internet portal. She shared her experience and spoke to the students about her achievements and future plans. “The School opens doors and new horizons to all those who want to do professional journalism. This is because we learn this profession from the best journalists - Alina Radu, Vasile Botnaru, Petru Macovei, Nadine Gogu, Elena Robu, Liliana Barbarosie and many others. And the biggest advantage of the School is that the academic year lasts only ten months,” she said.

At the meeting with students of Alecu Russo State University in Balti, the SAJ team was accompanied by a graduate of the 10^th graduate class, Iurii Botnarenco, who is now reporter for Bucharest’s “Adevarul” newspaper in Moldova. “The schedule of courses is very well structured, and in a relatively short time we learned everything a beginner journalist needs to know – from how to write news to media law and ethics. After practical courses of radio and TV I can film and edit myself, and it helps me a lot in my job as a journalist”, Iurii said.

Both in Balti and in Comrat, participants in the meetings received copies of the “Viața Lozovei” newspaper, prepared by SAJ students during the Community Journalism course. They also received detailed information about the School admission criteria. More information about courses and trainers can be found at www.scoaladejurnalism.md or on our Facebook page.