Prakash first acted on her interest by pursing an internship as a production assistant with a station in Columbus. She made the most of the opportunity: "They had me running tapes, ripping scripts, writing files. During that time, I made use of my resources. There were a lot of reporters who were very supportive. They'd read my stuff and say, why don't you try this? Photographers would shoot my stuff. And I made a tape in college. At some point, I pitched a story. There was a news magazine show that aired once a month. I had an idea for a story and pitched it. The anchor said, why don't you just go do it? I said, are you kidding me? OK!"

Her first story, about an Indian woman who married an Irish Catholic man, began her career of telling people's stories. As a reporter, Prakash tackles the difficult task of sharing people's lives with the world. "It's a huge responsibility, telling someone's story. So many people are so open and you feel for them," she says. Prakash recalls how a man approached her, earnestly wanting to be heard. Even though Prakash was helpless to change his circumstance, he was grateful to her for simply listening to him share his pain and tragedy. Prakash acknowledges this—talking with people she would never meet otherwise and telling their story—as the most rewarding part of her work.

Nirali caught up with Anu Prakash to find out her story.

What's a typical day like for you?
I'll go in to work in the morning and a lot of times, producers assign stories to us. Over the years, you develop contacts and eventually pitch your own stories. You do what stories they like, unless you pick something yourself. You pair up with a photographer, and you're usually calling people [for interviews] on the way there.

I'll get in at 10 o'clock, and then I'm usually out the door within 15-20 minutes for the story. Most days, we're on at noon with the story. Some days you'll have a full story, some days you'll have a video and a sound bite. It's a very quick turnaround. Sometimes you'll have to go twice in the hour long news show. Most days we do two stories so we completely change.

What drew you to the broadcasting field? What else did you think about pursuing?
That's a good question. I went through college not knowing what exactly what I wanted to do. I thought, "Maybe I'll be a pharmacist or maybe I'll be an accountant." I always had an interest [in broadcasting], but I never thought about it too much until I was in college. Then I realized, "You know what? Pharmacy is not for me. Accounting is not for me." I did an internship and it was the most valuable experience in my life. I was a production assistant, writing, running reels, and I saw how things work. And that's just sort of how it started. I actually completed a degree in finance. I thought about changing my major [after the internship] but the people I talked to told me to stick with it and get the experience in the newsroom.

How has your finance degree helped you at all?
[Laughs] It hasn't. But, you know, things can change. If I were to do business reporting or finance reporting ... Like I said, people told me to stick with out and get the experience.

Are your parents supportive of your career choice?
I have the most wonderful parents a girl could ask for. I remember talking with my father. He is the sweetest, most supportive man around. He pretty much thought I was crazy. I mean, it's a whole new world for them. My father's a physician. My sister's a physician. It was just something new. They were a little unsure at the beginning. They wanted me to succeed, but it was just a mystery world for them. They didn't see any Indian people on TV. But they got behind me the moment they knew I was serious and committed. Then they became my biggest cheerleaders. They said, "You can do it, and we'll support you."

What kind of challenges did you face as your career began to develop? Do any still persist today?
I guess, if anything, just starting out is really challenging. It's incredibly competitive. I remember I was 22 years old sending out tape after tape to anyone and everyone and just hoping for the first job. At some point, my parents said, well how long are you going to stick with this? The biggest challenge would probably be that—being patient—and not giving up. It's a very competitive field.

Did you face any challenges being a woman and a South Asian?
I really don't think so. If anything, maybe it's helped me. Starting out, I didn't find too many Indian women in this field. And I look around now, and I do see them. I have friends of friends who say, my cousin is looking to get into the field. And I've talked to several young Indian women. I tell them, I'll do what I can. I couldn't have gotten where I am without the help I got.

Why do you prefer broadcast journalism over print journalism?
Growing up, we always we ate dinner around the World News time. [laughs] You know, the "dun dun duh dun" and Peter Jennings and all. I honestly don't know. I remember thinking at some point, gosh, I wonder when there will be some Indian woman doing that kind of thing. We'd watch the news during childhood and felt as though I knew what was going on as a kid.

Any advice for woman who want to pursue the profession?
If it's what you want to do, just go for it. If I had listened to the people who said no, I wouldn't be here doing this. There will always be the people who say no, you can't do it. To any person trying to get into this: do an internship. Get into a newsroom. That's really what helped me. You see what it's like. You hear people use to the word glamorous [to describe what I do] and [it's not] &@8212; it's real work. I may be on the air less than two minutes but that story can take all day. I would say, stick with it. Do an internship.

If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I can't say I would anything differently. It worked out for me. I was really blessed.

What's next for you?
Good question. I get that asked very often. I really don't know. What about anchoring? Where do you want to work? And I really don't have an answer. I don't have that one place. I just want to be happy wherever it is. And still enjoy what I'm doing.