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Krishna Rathore's journey to the School of Emerging Media and Technology (EMAT) from her home in India is a testament to her curiosity about new technologies, but most importantly her adaptability to this changing landscape.

After four years of professional experience spanning roles from customer support executive to communications manager, she experienced a lightbulb moment when her mother showed her ChatGPT.

"In that moment, I realized that the world of technology is going to change really drastically, and I needed to be on top of it," Krishna recalls. She was concerned that her existing skills might become easily replicable by large language models, so she made the choice to seek a technologically focused master’s degree program.
 

Push yourself beyond the class... do something that no one else is doing.

The EMAT program stood out to her as uniquely transformative, and here Krishna discovered a fascination for understanding technological systems, stating, "I really love how computers work. I want to explore all the nooks and crannies of how technology works."

"This is a STEM program," she explains, "which means that it is technology-assisted. You're actually learning stuff that you will learn in computer science." But what she saw in the EMAT master's program that made it particularly attractive was the interdisciplinary approach at its core. Students can choose to explore diverse technological domains while maintaining creative – and ultimately career – flexibility.

The program has already sparked innovative thinking as well. Krishna is developing a business idea from her creative coding class to "gamify invitations and announcements," demonstrating how EMAT encourages practical innovation. Her career aspiration is to work in a dynamic agency environment where she can apply her newly acquired technological skills across multiple projects, and her professional background in journalism and communications will complement her technological studies as well.

Something Krishna also recognizes are the challenges ahead in terms of ethical use of artificial intelligence. Professors like Thor Wasbotten have been instrumental in expanding her perspective in courses like his Ethics and Emerging Technologies seminar. "He's always thinking about things from an ethical point of view," she notes, highlighting the program's commitment to responsible technological development.

And for students who think EMAT sounds like it could be a good fit for them, Krishna has this advice: "We have great resources here, so do something that really excites you. Push yourself beyond the class... do something that no one else is doing."

Krishna's journey represents EMAT's core mission—transforming curious, creative professionals into technological innovators who can navigate and shape our increasingly digital world.