By: Erin Cusick
Photo Credit: Rithik Kavanakudy
From backyard videos in middle school to managing content for organizations, Rithik's creative journey has been anything but ordinary. His passion for making content began early, playing around with video editing just for fun. That curiosity evolved into a deeper appreciation for media, especially during his time as a Media and Communication Studies (MCS) major at UMBC.
Though he once imagined himself pursuing a career in science, Rithik quickly realized that his true interests lay elsewhere. "It was just a high school science phase," he says. What stuck with him, however, was the joy of storytelling and the freedom to create something meaningful and fun, far from the traditional office life he hoped to avoid.
Through courses like MCS 334: Globalization of Media with Professor Yang, Rithik gained a new perspective on media beyond the U.S. He says that the class really opened his eyes to how media shapes and is shaped by global culture. Professors Yang and Anchor became major influences, not just for their teaching styles but for how they made learning engaging and inspiring.
One of Rithik’s favorite projects was producing TikTok-style videos for MCS 360: Internet Video Production, a class that blended creativity with practical skills. He thrives on drawing inspiration from both old and new forms of media, watching movies, playing games, and connecting the dots between different storytelling techniques.
Outside the classroom, Rithik keeps busy. At the UMBC Gameroom, he works both behind the desk and behind the scenes, co-running its social media accounts. He’s also interning with UMBC’s Division of Information Technology (DoIT), where he's helping the Southwest Visions Foundation build its social media presence. These opportunities have shown him what it’s like to create content that’s actually seen and used by real people.
A dreamer with a practical edge, Rithik hopes to one day work in film, perhaps as a video editor or in music production for movies or games. In five years? “Hopefully with a job, in an apartment, with a cat,” he says.
For Rithik, media is more than entertainment, it’s an evolving language, one he’s learning to speak fluently and creatively. A piece of advice he holds close came from a professor: "Work on every project as if it's going into your portfolio, not just for a grade." And that’s exactly what he’s doing, building a body of work with passion, purpose, and play.