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Lavanya Paliwal 👑

@lavunya_

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@lavanya_sees

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THE WEBBY AWARDS IN NEW YORK CITY ~ To celebrate a student’s achievement is the highest moment any professor can know. It is the moment when your work walks out of the classroom and into the world, carried forward with passion, craft, and an ethical commitment to the people whose stories matter most.

That is exactly what happened last Monday in New York City.

I had the privilege of accompanying Lavanya Paliwal, Carlos, and Jonah to the 30th edition of the Webby Awards, where their documentary Where the Wind Meets the Water won the People's Voice Award in the Student category, selected among 13,000 submissions from around the world. A film about Indigenous peoples' fight for life, territory, and the future of the planet, recognized on one of the largest stages in digital media.

This is not a small thing. These are first-time filmmakers.

One of them told me, standing on the red carpet surrounded by celebrities, “I have butterflies in my stomach.” That sentence is everything. That nervousness, that wonder, that sense of having arrived somewhere "real", that is what we are preparing them for. Not just to make films, but to walk into the world with their work and feel its weight and its possibility at the same time.

To be by their side, to guide, to encourage, to witness, was my greatest pleasure. It was fun. It was rocky. It was unpredictable. It was, in every sense, a mission: to equip the next generation of storytellers with the tools, the courage, and the conscience to tell the stories that the world needs to hear.

We are deeply grateful to Dr. Battinto L. Batts Jr. for believing in this work, and to the Cronkite School for making this story, this trip, and this celebration possible.

The future is in good hands, and I have seen it with my own eyes.

#webbys taken in New York City by @lavunya_

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5 months ago

We won our first Webby for our first documentary! I am filled with immense gratitude and Joe’s pizza!
(Got to live my Lana moment! 😭)
#webbyawards #cronkite #asucronkite @cronkite_asu @thewebbyawards @mcolon.amazonia @lavanya_sees @arizonastateuniversity
First image: Getty image credits: Craig Barritt taken in Cipriani Wall Street by @lavunya_

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5 months ago

A story that began in the classroom, and traveled beyond it.

Where the Wind Meets the Water, a film born in my Documentary course, has been named a People’s Voice Winner at the 30th edition of the Webby Awards, selected among more than 13,000 entries worldwide. 
What started as a conversation about storytelling, responsibility, and listening became something more.

The film follows the resistance of Indigenous communities in and around the Grand Canyon, particularly the Havasupai and Hualapai, against uranium and lithium extraction on their ancestral lands.

This is not only an environmental story. It is about survival, memory, and sovereignty. 
Proud of Lavanya, Jonah, and Carlos for the work they’ve done, and for carrying this story forward.

Thank you to everyone who supported this journey. taken in Phoenix, Arizona by @lavunya_

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6 months ago

Didn’t get here alone. Thank you, yes you!
@cronkite_asu #cronkite2025 @arizonastateuniversity
Thank you Abby Wilt for the awesome photos! ❤️ @abigail.wilt
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#asugrad #grad2025 #cronkitenation @cronkite_asu #asu taken in Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication by @lavunya_

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10 months ago

Doo Doo feces all over the Jarrett! taken in Carlsbad, California by @lavunya_

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a year ago

I don’t want my time to end before my eyes have seen their share. So much beauty in the world, yet so little time to witness it all. taken in Grand Canyon by @lavunya_

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a year ago

TIME. SHARE. GAP. SPACE. AIR. COLOURS. WATER. CRACKS. OLD. NEW. ALL. NONE. WHITE. GREY. BLUE. YOU. ME. WE. SEE. BREATHE. SLEEP. WAKE. HOT. COLD. CREATE. MATE. FATE. DEATH. by @lavunya_

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a year ago

Already got some land on the moon, and now bought some land on Mars too.
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@antelopeslotcanyontours #antelopecanyon #sedona #horseshoebend #antelopecanyonarizona #photographer taken in Antelope Canyon by @lavunya_

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a year ago

Grateful for humanity and humankind.
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#kigali #rwanda #studyabroad #asu #waltercronkiteschoolofjournalism #photojournalism @_____iteto taken in Kigali, Rwanda by @lavunya_

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a year ago

Kigali found me. It was as if I was home, the feeling is indescribable. The food, the smell of the air, the dew on the grass, everything pointed toward me being exactly where I was supposed to be. I was screaming at the top of my lungs, and now I am back to being quiet, for a lot of reasons.
Every second of the three weeks I spent there was unexpected in the best ways possible. Thank you Mr. Buffett, you found what I couldn’t. I just might make it.
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#cronkite #howardbuffettfoundation #asu #sundevils #waltercronkiteschoolofjournalism #kigalirwanda #studyabroad #photojournalism taken in Kigali, Rwanda by @lavunya_

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a year ago

I had the best time of my life. Kigali, the land of a thousand hills, gave me a million memories to cherish and to share. Thank you.
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@njanvier250 @cronkite_asu @geinstitute
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#kigali #studyabroad #asu #cronkitenation #journalists #photojournalism #rwanda taken in Kigali, Rwanda by @lavunya_

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a year ago

I don’t think I ever deserved this. After all, I haven’t done enough to see what I see or to be where I am. I did get many opportunities to see the world before, but most of them were taken away from me. I learned very early in life that sometimes you can only deserve something if you are a teacher’s favorite or pay a bunch of money to the institutions you study in, to be pushed above the other students.

Once, I was supposed to go on a very interesting study abroad trip in high school. I was accepted because of a heartfelt and honest essay I wrote. It meant everything to me. I got a phone call saying I would be going on this amazing trip to another country for a certain period of time, and I was so happy. A few days later, I received another phone call informing me that another student wanted to go. To maintain their monetary relationship with that student’s family, the school had to consider them above me.

That’s when I realized schools will give me the education of the books for the money I pay, but the knowledge I seek needs to be grabbed and snatched before those who control the dreams of many realize my dreams are bigger than the money they hold. So, this less deserved trip is a way to thank the 12-year-old me who deserved it way more than who I am today.

(This is the only time you’ll see me talk about stupid feelings and shit.)
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#realization #stories #childofgod #art #storyofart #artistsupport #fearofgod #godofsmallthings #porto #bluebuilding #bluelife #blues #instagram #wtfmoment #traumarecovery taken in Porto, Portugal by @lavunya_

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2 years ago