9th January of the year 2009 turned this proficient young writer 26. As of today, her portfolios are diverse and rich as compared to any other youngster of her age; she has been writing in leading English dailies as a ‘freelance feature writer’ apart from hosting a radio show and anchoring a television program as well. Moreover, she has been involved in many a self-styled endeavor which have fulfilled her intellectual appetite to an extent that she has always managed to keep her countenance happy and upbeat, and has stood tall against all odds.
The following sage words of Ralph Waldo Emerson makes her feel empowered:
“Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old” "Like mother, like daughter":
Sonya’s mother is a thorough professional and has been into the field of Advertising for over two decades now. The phrase ‘Like mother, like daughter’ has a much deeper meaning for Sonya and her mom than this world usually tends to appreciate. Her mother happens to be the pivot around which Sonya’s professional as well as personal success revolves, for Sonya regards her mom as her mentor and the person who has groomed Sonya into confident young lass: a girl who derives passion from her creativity and ingenuity.
Existence to Life, every bit crafted --- Education and upbringing:
Born and bred in Lahore; Sonya shall be proceeding to the Columbia School of Journalism, New York, for a 10-month Masters in Journalism, joining the fall semester of 2009 there. New York City's Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is the Ivy League's only journalism school and proudly counts the leaders of the journalism profession among its faculty. Offering more than $4.4 million in student financial aid every year, the Graduate School of Journalism supports its students' development toward realizing their professional potential with employers like the New York Times, the Associated Press, The Washington Post, The Village Voice, Newsweek, Reuters, and PBS to name just a few.
All this has not come easy; it has a tale to tell about Sonya’s efforts and the reinforcements from her mother – a woman who made her daughter’s single parent upbringing really enriching. Sonya did her O’ Levels in 2001 and appeared for her A Levels privately. She then proceeded to Lahore School of Economics to complete her BBA in finance – a 2-year undergraduate program. She then completed her 1st year in Mass Communications from Beaconhouse National University but did not continue because she felt that she was learning more in the field with her work experience than she was learning in the class room.
It was in the year 2007 that she applied for admissions online and secured admission in the Columbia School of Journalism along with a scholarship worth US $ 10000. However, she could not really think of managing the rest of US $ 45000, so the School deferred her admission to 2008 on her request. Sonya then started looking for scholarship programs but became depressed when she got two rejections from a local and foreign scholarship foundation. A friend of hers then literally forced this despondent soul to apply for the Fulbright Scholarship and lady luck made Sonya shine as a successful Fulbright scholarship holder. Sonya believes in God’s hand in everything, and feels that now at 26 she is more prepared to start her MS than she was at the age of 24 and praises the element of faith as something which is to be guarded by everyone.
During her academia, she found Dean of the Beaconhouse National University Dr Mehdi as an exceptionally inspirational man. She also regards Taimur-ul-Hassan, one of her professors as a strong professional who she also met at Beaconhouse National University.
Sonya’s soft side allows her to be a kindred spiritual soul and she believes that religious education should be a part of any kid’s activity but it must be with tenderness and love. She values the parents who make arrangements for their kids’ religious education with translation so that they comprehend as well.
Sonya vividly remembers how she started off with writing for “Young Nation”, a publication of ‘The Nation’ when she was hardly 13 years old. She used to contribute childish fiction stories; this fills her memory with sweetness and loveliness. Sonya is actually an artist deep down and wanted to join NCA after her A Levels to pursue a degree in Fine Arts but then dropped the idea; however she never dropped the idea of honing her artistic skills. She burnished those to an extent which inspires respect and awe for her among the young and old alike.
Work, Work and Work; along with formal education:
Sonya started working when she was 17 years old; her first experience being a three month internship at “Publicis”. Then in 2003 she served ‘Daily Times’ Sunday Magazine as a sub-editor for six months; apart from authoring articles, she proof-read the overall magazine content, assisted in its design layout, sourced contributors, and wrote regular features. She then hosted a live talk show on City FM 89 by the name of “Tangled Reality” in the year 2004.
She then joined J. Walter Thompson (JWT) as a copywriter in 2005 and worked there for four months. While she was at JWT she also managed to host a show on HUM TV; a weekly architecture-based show.
She then rejoined Daily Times as an Assistant Editor before she moved to The News International to look after their Instep section in the capacity of Assistant Editor. Moreover, it has been a year that Sonya writes for The Friday Times, Dawn, and Newsline as a Freelance Feature Writer. Since September 2008, Sonya is also managing her own portal by the name of ‘The Green Kaleidoscope’ (TGK) which is a monthly e-zine devoted to Pakistanis. Sonya is also into online work by the names of ‘Parliament Watch’ and ‘Future leaders of Pakistan’.
More about Sonya:
Sonya loves dogs and is keeping two as her lovely pets. Apart from Edhi and Asma Jehangir, she also lauds the role of UNICEF and PETA in the social sector. PETA stands for ‘People for Ethical Treatment of Animals’, and is respected by Sonya who herself is a vegetarian. Sonya loves to spread hope and abhors despondency, and she wants the leadership to do the same. She is utterly disillusioned by the current leadership of Pakistan but holds regard for people like Fatima Bhutto who are young and talented. Sonya believes Fatima has what it takes to come out and manage the affairs in active politics. Sonya feels that extremism is one of the grave problems at hand, apart from the age-old menaces of poverty and illiteracy. Sonya is inspired by Aung San Suu Kyi - for her activism, hardwork and struggle for her people.
Sonya regards the poetry of ‘Pablo Neruda’ as simply breath taking. She loves reading books and she picks any sort of book which sounds good. She has Haruki Murakami, Bapsi Sidhwa, Erica Jong, Yann Martel and Gregory David Roberts among her favorite authors.
Sonya is an avid reader of newspapers. She likes ‘The News’ but relies on ‘Dawn’ for the facts. She has great admiration for Cowasjee’s work. She also reads through ‘New York Times’ and other foreign publications on the internet.
Sonya hates cricket but loves watching and playing tennis; her favorite tennis players being Venus Williams and Serena Williams.
Currently working on a collection of short stories, Sonya has what it takes to fulfill the requirements which the love of pen brings in. She has made the nation proud with her literary initiatives.
