Writer/Editor by the day, an overthinker by the night. Former Journalist. Always prefers her puns to be intended. Occasionally Sarcastic. Prefers writing over talking and listening over speaking. Has a firm belief that there is a meme that applies to every situation. Diligent and hardworking. Sometimes talkative, mostly quiet.
Shreya, after graduating in BA (Hons) English from Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University, went on to pursue journalism from The Indian Express School of Media Studies. After that, she got an opportunity to intern with the Indian Express, and later, she worked there as a Sub Editor. During her tenure at the Indian Express, she got to report/ write extensively on various issues, which were published in the paper. Career as a journalist was quite exciting and challenging at the same time as every day, you learn something new. Also, interviewing people from different walks of life was a huge perk as it gives you a lot of exposure through people’s stories and their experiences.
But again, at the same time, it requires you to be right there where the action is and it takes a while to get used to the deadlines as you have to work under tight time constraints and you cannot afford to miss any deadlines.
Some of the most significant achievements of Shreya’s career have been undertaking a research-based project on ‘Women in Delhi Police’ which was about looking at the history of women in police and interviewing various women in the police force right from the constable to the DCP about their journeys/ experiences. It was certainly eye-opening as the number of women was found to be dismal (just about 7%) and there were just very few women at the top ranks. Shreya was also a part of the editorial team for a book titled ‘The Indian Navy’ Glorious Past- Vibrant Future’. She received a letter of appreciation for the same from the then Indian Express Editor-in-Chief, Shekhar Gupta.
After her stint with journalism, she pursued a short-term management course - Young Women’s Leadership Program. Post that, she decided to transition from journalism into content. She joined Cleartrip, a leading travel portal, and worked as a part of the content team there. It helped her understand how content writing is different from journalism writing, which was more long-form while content writing is more direct, crisp, and involved the use of keywords. It had to be done in a manner that would transmit the destination’s energy to the audience/ reader via words.
Post-Cleartrip, Shreya got an opportunity to work for CollegeDekho and while it was completely different from writing from a travel portal, the journey here has been rewarding, There have been challenges/ highs and lows but at the same time, it has been a very good learning experience. Brainstorming to come up with new innovative ideas for content for various streams - Management, Hotel Management, Law, and Design, has given her a new perspective and also enabled her to acquire in-depth knowledge about these subjects.
It has also highlighted the importance of offering the right kind of content to the user, something which is functional, informative, factual, and at the same time, simple so that students are able to easily read and understand.
On the personal front, Shreya enjoys reading anything and everything that she can get her hands on. She likes spending time with family, friends, and watching movies. Recently, she discovered a newfound love for cooking. It was something that started off during the lockdown as a way to pass time, a form of entertainment/ distraction as all other avenues of entertainment - movie halls, restaurants/ cafes were shut but it eventually became more than that. What she viewed as a chore earlier, became a creative outlet.
Diving into the world of recipes and food blogs has been fascinating and something that she looks forward to now. She also started recording/ penning down her culinary experiments on her blog - @spoonfullofmadness. Still an amateur chef, this endeavour is for fun and an outlet to channel her stress and at the same time, helps in being productive.
‘Wisdom comes not from age, but from education and learning. This is what she believes in wholeheartedly. Learning enables you to become more open to change and also helps in unearthing unknown potential that one didn’t know one has. More than anything else, she aspires to be a lifelong learner with an insatiable curiosity for life.
She is an avid Instagram user and to connect with her there, follow her on - shreya9918
You can also reach out to her at - shreya.sareen@collegedekho.com.