Every morning at 8 a.m., Sofia Briley shuffles her way through the vast sea of New York City subway commuters and heads to work, where she’ll spend the next 12 hours of her day researching, shooting and editing video for Maslansky Luntz + Partners, a national communications research firm for various Fortune 500 companies, such as Pepsi Co.

A true journalist at heart, she takes advantage of her commute scrolling the latest headlines on her iPhone and sorting through her flooded box of emails.

Her appearance is cool and calm, always acting professional, ready to take on the challenges of the day ahead. However, a closer look at Briley will reveal her shinning passion for broadcast journalism beaming out from inside.

“The number one thing that VCU gave me was the opportunity to follow my dreams,” said Briley.

Briley’s passion for broadcast journalism takes its roots from her decision to enroll in a documentary film class as a VCU senior.

“My favorite memory at VCU was watching my documentary film get aired on PBS,” said Briley. “Making that film ignited a spark in me that won’t go away. I discovered my passion for documentaries in that class, and I’ll never give up on my passion.”

Although Briley cites her documentary airing as her greatest accomplishment as a mass communications student, she cites winning two Emmy awards at the age of 19 as her greatest life accomplishment.

“The broadcast journalism program prepared me for the real-world,” said Briley. “So when my local news station gave me the amazing opportunity to take the lead on creating two PSAs, I jumped on it.”

Mike Gillette, television producer at Prince William County and Briley’s internship supervisor, described the night they took home the Emmys as one of the proudest moments of his life.

“Many television producers never win an Emmy, and Sofia had two when she was just an 19-year-old intern,” Said Gillette. “Sofia has a gift for understanding situations and making things happen. Every project she was involved with won local or national awards for our station. Her impact is still being felt today.”

Ever since, Sofia’s career has been on an up-hill fast track, igniting others with her passion along the way.  After graduating from the VCU School of Mass Communications (with a concentration in broadcast journalism) in May 2010, she landed an internship at BBC World and BBC Arabic. Once she completed her internship, Sofia took a chance and left behind the comfort of her family and home in Woodbridge, Va. to take a job in New York City as a media technology associate for Maslansky Luntz + Partners.

“VCU is the reason why I was prepared for this position,” said Briley. “The broadcast journalism program taught me to always stay informed- to watch, read and listen to as many different news sources as possible.  Because knowing what’s going on in the world will not only keep you aware, but it will also inspire you in ways that you can apply to your own life.”